How Not to Get Your OTP Together
by TailsDoll13
Summary: It started with a shadow-travel onto Half-Blood Hill, and now both camps think that Will and Nico are destined for each other. The problem? Nobody's succeeded in getting them together. Yet. Chapter 29-Save the date-it's a wedding!. (No longer taking requests for scenes!)
1. Chapter 1: He's Gotta Kiss the Boy

**I made a post on tumblr saying that the Apollo cabin would probably sing "Kiss the Girl" when Will and Nico walk by.**

**Last I checked it has over 640 notes and counting.**

**Unbelievable.**

**Anyways, here it is in story format for all of you lovely people. I also have another chapter planned. If you want to request an attempt, see rules at the bottom.**

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**C**hapter One: He's Gotta Kiss the Boy

If you asked Kayla about the Apollo cabin's first attempt, she would blame their failure on Frank Zhang. (Not to his face, of course, since he generally terrified everyone. But she would out of his earshot.)

Like all great plans, it had started with a cause. And that cause was Will Solace and Nico di Angelo.

Everyone shipped it. Everyone. The helpers in the infirmary giggled over Will dragging Nico in whenever he got hurt. The Aphrodite cabin watched (stalked, really) the two whenever they could. Hermes kids had been seen loitering about closets with keys in their hands, whistling innocently. Kayla had even heard rumors of a secret fan club being formed by Annabeth Chase and Jason Grace, which wasn't a surprise. Nobody could ship Solangelo like those two could. Hell, you'd probably even find Solangelo shippers all the way at Camp Jupiter, most likely led by Hazel Levasque and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. Maybe even a few godly shippers on Olympus, Aphrodite most likely being one.

In short, if you asked anyone what their OTP was, they'd say it was Will Solace and Nico di Angelo.

There was only one problem: Like most shippers, their OTP wasn't together.

Yet, anyways.

Whih is why the Apolo cabin took it upon themselves to get their head counselor in bed.

"I can't believe we're doing this."

"Shh!"

"Would the Aphrodite cabin even approve of our meddling?"

"Piper is dating Jason, and he started the club, so they'd probably thank us."

"Everyone will."

"Still..."

"Let's just get Will laid, okay? If he doesn't thank us for that, I don't know who will."

"Probably Nico, since he'd get laid as well."

"Austin, what does laid mean?"

"Uh..."

"Shh! They're coming!"

Everyone shut up at that announcement.

The entire Apollo cabin-minus Will, of course-was in their cabin, curtains closed and doors shut. They were all seated hunched on the floor, so no spying eyes could see them. Their plan was just about ready to be executed, and it would be once the OTP passes in front of their cabin.

The plan was simple enough: Once Will and Nico had passed in front of their cabin, they would slam open every door, every window, and belt out one of the cheesieset songs in human history. With luck, the lyrics would work on the two boys, and they would kiss, clearing away any sexual tension that there was between them.

What could possibly go wrong?

Kayla was snapped out of her thoughts as two familiar voices grew closer.

"...it's wasn't that bad!"

"It was a cut!"

"A paper cut."

"Hey, cuts can get infected!"

"You wrapped my entire arm in bandages."

"Gods, you can practically smell the sexual tension," Austin muttered. "Hould've gotten them laid sooner."

"Shush!" Kayla waved her arm in his face, adding a few words in Japanese that shouldn't be translated for good measure.

"Ready?" Alex called, rubbing zher hands together as Will and Nico paused in front of the Apollo cabin. As everyone nodded, zhe grinned, and yelled, "NOW!"

All at once, every door and every window flew open, and any Apollo camper that could squeezed their heads through the opening if there was room. Kayla and Austin even ran out onto the porch, along with a few others. Nico and Will turned to face them, looks of bewilderment pained on their faces. Just as Will opened his mouth to speak, the entire cabin burst out into song.

"_SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_MY OH MY_

_LOOKS LIKE WILL'S TOO SHY!_

_HE AIN'T GONNA KISS NICO!"_

Will facepalmed, while Nico just stared at them. Huh. That wasn't the reaction Kayla had expected. She was expeting to weepingly confess their feelings of deep attraction for each other and make out on the porch and sail away on a rainbow made out of diamonds while the 0entire Apollo cabin turned into a choir of heavenly angels and soared into the sunset on downy white wings

Okay, maybe not.

She needed to stay away from the Aphrodite kids, no matter how attractive some of them may be.

Meanwhile, the cabin kept on seranading Will and Nico.

_"SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_AIN'T THAT SAD?_

_AIN'T IT A SHAME, TOO BAD_

_YOU GONNA MISS NICO!"_

Will finally lifted his head from where it had been resting in his hand. "First off, you guys are hilarious. Really. Second off...that song? You couldn't have come up with anything more cliché?"

"Of course you'd comment on the song," Nico grumbled. Kayla was certain that a blush painted the boys' cheeks, however. Both boys, in fact.

"Keep singing!" She yelled. A few campers nearby had stopped to stare at the cabin. Most of them gave thumbs up when they realized what the musical demigods were attempting to do.

_"SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_WILL IS SCARED!_

_HE'S BLUSHING TO HIS HAIR!_

_JUST GO AND KISS NICO!"_

"How long did it take you to come up with this?" Will asked, crossing his arms.

"Too long!" someone yelled.

_"SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_DO IT NOW_

_CAN'T TRY TO HIDE IT NOW_

_YOU WANNA KISS NICO!"_

"The more you ask me to do it, the more time you'll waste trying to convince me to do it."

Nico was actually smiling, chuckling to himself at the Apollo cabin's antics. Kayla filed that away in the section of her mind now devoted to getting Will together with Nico.

_"SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_FLOAT ALONG_

_AND MAKE OUT TO THIS SONG!_

_AS WE SING 'KISS NICO!'"_

Will groaned, cheeks turning redder. Nico was definitely laughing now, having to hold his stomach to support himself.

The singing faltered as everyone took in the sight of the son of Hades, actually laughing. A few people stopped singing altogether. But Kayla took this as a good sign. Maybe this could actually get them together! She hoped it did, otherwise she would owe Mitchell five bucks.

That was when the plan failed.

_"SHA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA_

_MUSIC PLAYS-"_

An extremely off-tune voice joined the chorus just at that moment.

"OH WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY?!" it squawked.

The singing stopped for real that time. Everyone cringed, a few people actually covering their ears, and Alex squawked, "WHAT THE HE-" before realizing there was children nearby.

"YOU WANNA-Wait, why did you stop singing?"

Kayla turned to see a very burly son of Mars standing next to the cabin. Oh. She has forgotten. Some Romans were visiting this week.

"GODAMMIT, FRANK!" someone else yelled, forgetting that there was children. "YOU RUINED IT!"

Frank blinked. "I was trying to help! I love that song!"

"YEAH, WELL, YOU DIDN'T!" Kayla yelled back.

Frank huffed. "Who were you even singing at?"

"Are you BLIND?! We were serenading Will and Ni-"

Kayla turned around to gesture at her OTP and found an empty porch instead. The two boys had taken advantage of the confusion caused by Frank's arrival to leave.

Kayla sighed. Godammit, Frank. Godammit indeed.

***SHALALALALALAMYOHMYLOOKATTHEBOYTOOSHYAINTGONNAKISSTHEGIRL!***

"I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna kill every last one of them. I swear to all the gods."

"..."

"I'm so sorry that they did that! I don't even know why!"

"Well, that confirms my suspicions."

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed the people staring at us and the weird acronym they use...what is it...OTP?"

"Doesn't that mean Oh The Pain?"

"Piper says it means One True Pairing."

"Oh."

Pause.

"What's the difference?"

"I have no idea. Anyways, I've had a weird suspicion..."

"What?"

"We've become everyone's OTP."

"That's weird."

"They're weird."

"Everyone's weird."

"We're demigods. We're supposed to be weird."

"Yeah."

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**Boop! Welp, that's all I have for now.**

**Anyways, if you want to send in a request for another hilarious attempt, please do so! However, there are rules that apply:**

**1\. Nothing above a T rating. I will not write anything M. It can be suggestive, but not by much.**

**2\. Not necessarily required, but if you have an idea for how the attempt should fail, please include it. I can come up with a way for it to fail, but I can only do so much.**

**3\. ONE IDEA PER REVIEW. If it gets too crazy, I'll just ignore your idea. I am a high school student, I'm not gonna have time for six reviews listing five requests per review.**

**Hope you follow the rules, I can't wait to see your reviews!**

**Love,**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	2. Chapter 2: Employing the Oracle

**Is it too soon to post this one? I had the idea shortly after I came up with the story. This is another one of mine, just like the first one, so I wanna get it out of my system anyways.**

**The funny thing is I wanted to post this sooner, but my computer started updating for some dang stupid reason and I couldn't do anything with it for awhile. Also, this is the first time I've typed a chapter up on the computer in Word and then uploaded it via file upload, so be warned if something happens.**

**REVIEWS**

**Leyna4eva: Oh my goodness huge confidence boost here THANK YOU! Also I will never stop shipping Caleo, but Leyna will always have a special place in my heart *gazes off into the sunset while standing on the beach as the wind blows my hair around***

**Percy: Okay, that's just weird.**

**Me: Every teenager is doing it in the movies.**

**Thereadingturtle: I'll have to write that as the epilogue. I actually know what the last chapter will be, too, so I can start drawing up plans for those two. Definitely the engagement scene at least, not sure about the wedding bit because I've never really tried to write a wedding scene. I'll definitely do that, though! Thanks for an awesome epilogue idea!**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Don't read anything I write in the middle of the night, otherwise you'll die laughing.**

**dauntlessinthetardis: BRUH. BRUH YOUR USERNAME. BRUH. I AM IN COMPLETE AND UTTER LOVE. Yes, I like the idea of a camp dance. Something cliché and cheesy to wrap it all up.**

**TheKookieKing11: The Aphrodite cabin would totally set that up, no lie. That one's probably gonna be written soon, if not then I died.**

**Queen Ore-Sama: I can hear the Stolls now...also, I'm glad that you liked it! It seems to make everyone chuckle, actually.**

**rainbowchameleon: Congratulations for being the first reviewer! Also goodness gracious me was it really that funny.**

**Agana of the night: I'm gonna combine your idea with Queen Ore-Sama's, since they're the same thing. And I've always liked writing closet scenes, so it's okay!**

**Blackberry Explosion: I actually had to sit down and laugh after I read that. Also, are they all part of the same idea or all different ones? But I will try my hand at a Solangelo party haha. Also I love writing the Stolls so I will definitely add them. **

**RayvnAshes2: Yes oh my goodness yes. I can just imagine Will being like "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR HAIR actually nvm it looks great on you haha"**

**mylittlemo09: Please don't suffocate, that would be quite unfortunate. I've caused enough deaths as it is already.**

**haileyanimefreak: Yes that was me I made that post. And I'm glad that it made you laugh! Also thanks :D**

**DaughterofAthena6: They're everyone's OTP. Everyone's.**

**Guest: Everyone's laughing out loud what have I done.**

**wisdomgirl0924: Yes I feel like this was quite fantastic. I actually laughed a little while reading this.**

**Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu: Ooh, interesting idea! I'll have to save that one for a bit later, though. Sorry, it just seems like it'll make more sense if it takes place a bit later, because of the strain it'll add in the Solangelo relationship, which still needs to develop more to the point of them really liking each other in this fic. Right now they're sorta at the "do I want to date you or just be friends" stage. I'll probably set it before the dance that dauntlessinthetardis suggested I do, actually. And I might have to write it in two separate chapters as well. And I want to try both combinations that you gave me too ugh. You know what, I'll probably have people vote on them later on. Sorry if my response seems harsh, but your idea is really cool! Honestly.**

**Warning: This chapter is set before the previous chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Despite making jokes about stealing souls all the time, I am not Rick Riordan.**

**Nico: You're worse.**

**Me: Shut up before I steal your soul, di Angelo.**

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**C**hapter 2: Employing the Oracle

Rachel looked up from the latest issue of Olympian Monthly, eerily bright eyes narrowed. "You want me to do _what?!_"

Jason swallowed, pushing up his glasses nervously with one finger. Most people would've thought that his friendship with the son of Hades would mean Jason was not terrified of anything, but that was certainly not true. He was terrified of Rachel Elizabeth Dare. "Use your prophet powers to see when Will and Nico end up together?"

"Jason," Annabeth moaned, "Even though I'm co-president of the fan club, I don't think using Rachel like this will help to get our OTP together."

"C'mon, Annabeth! By looking into the future, she can verify that we get them together!"

"Every other camper is trying, Jason."

"I haven't seen them try anything."

"Have you not seen all the Hermes kids hanging out by the closets?"

"What?"

"You're just as dense as Seaweed Brain is."

"HEY! I TAKE OFFENSE!"

Rachel cleared her throat, causing the two demigods to look back at her. "Look, I'm…honored-" She said the word in a tone that meant she obviously wasn't. "-but there are a few reasons why using me to help get your little pet project going will not work in the slightest."

"Oh, yeah? Give us one then." As soon as he said it, Jason immediately wanted to take every word that he said back. He had made many mistakes in his life, and he knew that taunting Rachel Elizabeth Dare was one of the dumbest. You would never get away with it.

Never.

"One reason is, Jason," she spoke icily, chilling Jason more that Khione had when she had frozen him on the deck of the Argo II both times that she had, "that, as of right now, my powers as the Oracle of Delphi have yet to return. You should know this perfectly well."

"But it's already been a few weeks since the war end-"

"Another reason is," she cut him off flatly, "I have been bothered with all this before. Don't think that you guys have formed the first shipping club ever at camp. After I became the Oracle, the Aphrodite kids pestered me for weeks about Percabeth."

Annabeth made a face. "I've heard."

"Percabeth?"

"That's the shipping name that they came up with for me and Percy, by combining our first names. Just like how we came up with Solangelo by combining Will's and Nico's last names."

"Oh." Jason paused. "Wait a sec-"

Rachel cut Jason off again. "The thing is, I don't do trivial things like foreseeing matters of the heart or who will win the next Capture the Flag thing. I give prophecies. For quests. Those things are not quests."

"But," Jason protested, "what if it's a quest for true love?"

"No. The Spirit doesn't do that. And she's not here at the moment, so please leave a message." With that, Rachel continued to read the article about the drama and rumors bouncing around about the disappearance of Apollo.

"What if they asked you something?"

Rachel glared at Jason again, mentally cursing when the glare that she gave which was almost as scary as one of Nico di Angelo's did nothing to faze the blonde boy this time around. "What?"

"What if one of you asks them about something? Like, 'Oh, Rachel, the most prophetic Oracle that there ever was, ever is, and ever will be, does Nico/Will love me back? Oh, will he ever will?'"

Annabeth started laughing at Jason's high-pitched, girly voice, but stopped and mentally checked herself when she saw Rachel glaring again.

This time, Rachel slowly put the magazine down. Annabeth instantly regretted ever listening to Jason's suggestion.

"What. The actual. Hades. Jason."

"But it makes sense!" he defended himself. "I mean, if other campers have asked about these things, then they might ask you about it too!"

"I think you've might've forgotten something, Jason." Rachel's tone warned the boy about terrible things to come if he dared to fight her on her decision, and Annabeth groaned a little when Jason merely blinked, either too ignorant to notice Rachel's tone or else ignoring it completely.

"Forgetting what?"

"Will is a son of Apollo. Now, granted the fact that, unlike me, he is not carrying the Oracle's spirit and has merely inherited the ability to prophesy the future, he does not have as strong an ability as mine. But-" Her tone was picked up on this time, and Jason abruptly closed his mouth as to cut off any argument that he was about to throw out there. "-that does not mean he can't see at least a little ways into the future. So he wouldn't be asking me about it, he'd be trying to figure it out for himself. And Apollo kids don't abuse their powers that way. It backfires."

"Is that the reason why Austin couldn't stop singing everything he said for an entire week?"

"Yup."

"Bleah."

"And his powers, just like mine, have also been cut off. The entire cabin, in fact. So that means that nobody in this camp will be trying to foretell their future-or anyone else's, for that matter-for an indefinite amount of time."

Jason scratched his head. "Well, I guess you're right about Will," he finally admitted. Rachel sighed, finally glad to be getting the son of Jupiter off of her back, and her hand inched back towards her magazine. Then he blurted out, "What about Nico?"

"Gods of-" Rachel didn't even finish her sentence, and she thunked her head down on the table in front of her.

"He does have a point, Rachel. What about Nico?"

"Nico knows that I can't do it already."

"Really?" This surprised both Annabeth and Jason. They had never seen the son of Hades being chummy with the camp Oracle in all the time that they had been there. In fact, the last major time Annabeth could recall them interacting was during the quest in the Labyrinth, and the battle that had happened afterwards.

"Yeah, he does."

"How?"

Rachel paused, then looked at Annabeth. "He asked me about Percy. Before the, y'know…" She bobbed her head to the side, red curls following. Annabeth understood. Before the underwater kiss on Percy's birthday had happened. Gods, now she felt sorta awful about that. She would definitely have to get Will with Nico as an apology.

Jason didn't know what Rachel was talking about. "Wait, so you knew that Nico was gay?"

"Yes, I knew."

"Why didn't you tell us?!" he cried.

"Jason, he's from a time where if you told someone you were gay, you would wind up dead, if you were lucky. Homosexuals were placed in the same concentration camps that the Jews were in, and after the United States freed the Jews, they left the homosexuals behind. And he asked me to keep it secret, and I did. I am a lot of things, but betraying someone by spilling their secrets and destroying the trust that they had placed in me is most certainly not one of them."

"…" Jason stayed quiet. Annabeth did as well, not having much of an argument towards that statement. Then Jason broke the silence.

"What if he tries again?"

This time, Rachel had had enough. "GET OUT!" she roared, and green tendrils of mist swirled around her. The Spirit may had been asleep, but boy, was it mad that its host was being annoyed like this, and disrupting the peaceful rest that it had just been taking.

Annabeth didn't need any further encouragement. She grabbed Jason's arm and dragged him outside Rachel's room with her. She decided not to bother Rachel again for the rest of the week.

When they were finally gone, Rachel sighed. Finally. Again. She picked her magazine back up this time, and decided not to go to the pavilion for dinner. She'd just order Chinese take-out or something. After all, it was fun to laugh at the fortunes printing in the fortune cookies. Silly mortals. Futures are for Oracles!

***This linebreak has been sponsored by fortune cookies and the Trix rabbit. And now, back to our regularly scheduled fanfiction.***

"Gah!" Jason shook after he was at least twenty feet away from the Big House, along with Annabeth. "You were right. We shouldn't have gone to Rachel."

"No biggie. I wasn't expecting her to do that either. Guess I was too focused on the OTP." Annabeth sighed. "Speaking of which, we are not any closer to getting them together, are we."

"Nope. Back to square one, I guess." Jason kicked the ground. "I never thought having an OTP would be so hard. I mean, look at how the people online are dealing with it! They handle it fairly well."

"Handle what well?"

Annabeth and Jason both jumped, then turned around to see a rather sweaty Will Solace, with an empty quiver over his shoulder. The teenager must've just finished archery practice.

"Oh, hi, Will!" Annabeth greeted. "Getting any better with the bow and arrow?"

The son of Apollo shook his head, damp curls sticky with perspiration flying which way and that. "No, I haven't gotten past the white part of the target at all."

"Well' that's better than missing entirely! Nico probably isnt too good himself-OW!"

Annabeth had elbowed Jason severely in his side. "You idiot! We can't hint at them being our OTP!" she hissed.

Jason whispered back, "Can you sue me for trying to get them together? I mean, you're trying too!"

Will frowned as he looked at them whisper-arguing back and forth. "Uh, is everything okay?"

"Yup, everything is fine! Nothing is wrong! Nothing at all! See ya, Will!" Annabeth dragged Jason off by his ear, while he complained about the pain and Annabeth messing up his glasses, as they left a very confused blonde boy in front of the Big House.

*Annabeth and Jason are experiencing the pain that comes from having an OTP. News at 11, right after this linebreak.*

"What were they so worked up about?"

"You're probably just reading way into this, dude."

"Yeah, but you should've seen how nervous Annabeth and Jason were. They almost NEVER get nervous!"

"Okay, that is a bit weird."

"HA! I'd knew you'd agree with me."

"I'm just concerned for my other friends."

"…So, we're friends now?"

"Solace, did you think I just hung around you because I was bored?"

"Wait, you don't?"

"Sarcasm doesn't work for you."

"Neither does it for you, Death Head."

* * *

**I actually never really got behind the Rachel/Nico ship when it was a thing, but I am in love with them having some sort of bromance, for some reason. Maybe because they both liked Percy or something like that, I guess.**

**There should be a "Had a crush on Percy but got over it" club. Reyna and Calypso would definitely join. Percy would just be weirded out. Annabeth would approve.**

**Also, I don't know if I'll be updating every day, but I can say for sure that I will have an update on Monday. Whether it be the next chapter or the one after, I'm not sure, but there will be one. You'll see why when I do.**

**Welp. Bye for now!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	3. Chapter 3: Skulls by Candlelight

I saw "The Book of Life" last night and can I just say AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT IS GREAT GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW my only complaint is that it should have been longer haha

**Anyways, I am officially writing this fanfiction's first request scene, from the amazing TheKookieKing11! The request was a romantic dinner in the mess hall! Don't worry, Queen Ore-Sama and Agana of the night, closets are abundant in the next chapter, as are endless jokes about closets because I am a nerd.**

**Also, I would like to say to the guest who reviewed saying that Solangelo is terrible (I deleted your review), why are you reading my story if you don't like Solangelo? I mean, why force yourself to do something that you don't want to do? That's honestly very confusing to me. And that was the first review closest to a flame that I've gotten in a while, so thanks for that. Wow, I've actually sorta missed that feeling.**

**Sorry for that negativity, everyone. On to happiness and rainbows!**

***"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" starts playing***

**Yeah. Not exactly that, but whatever.**

**Nico: I saw that movie when it came out, actually.**

**Me: You, sir, are brilliant.**

**Nico: I didn't like it. Too much color.**

**Me: You, sir, are not so brilliant.**

**REVIEWS**

**Spiesareawesome: Yes, it is Solangelo. Sorry if there was any confusion. The major Solangelo isnt really happening yet, but it's getting there. And I'm sure if you wait long enough someone will write a story with one of them as a girl, if you like reading those instead! Also you don't have to read this if you don't like it.**

**Queen Ore-Sama: I needed some dramatic event leading up to the closet, and then I looked at the dinner request and it all fell into place. The closet chapter is soon, I assure you! I serve the meatiest and only the meatiest. Haha, yeah, I did. I'm actually just basing Jason and Annabeth off of me and my friends regarding our OTPs ("Oh no my OTP just died again. Okay I'm sad. Now I'm going to go get a new one."). The problem is we like Doctor Who, Homestuck, and Attack on Titan, and they all kill off a large percent of the characters, so we have like one or two or three dozen dead OTPs. And thanks!**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Thanks! Wait, seriously? I thought that both events had like three or so hours between them. Didn't Rachel become the Oracle in the afternoon, and Percabeth became canon in the evening? I mean, everyone had to get back to Camp Half-Blood…I'll have to look back and see.**

**RavynAshes2: I'M READING YOUR MIIIIIND…Yup, she totally would! Only problem is tracking her down *laughs***

**Rainbowchameleon: I was about to say I would join, but it's Nico instead of Percy. And I'm still not over him.**

**Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu: I'm glad you liked it! I love writing Jason as a huge dork, actually. And Rachel is awesome I love her. Yeah, I'm glad I didn't seem too harsh! I honestly can't wait to write Aph getting involved. And I decided to just write both and upload them, unless if people wanna vote.**

**ThisSentenceIsALie: I'm guessing your name is a Portal ref, since my friends talk about the cake thing a lot. Oh my god, Chiron finding out. I was going to write that anyways, so you'll get it soon! And a Will look-alike? Gonna take the entire Aphrodite cabin for that haha.**

**Deliluh: HEY THERE DELILUH WHAT'S IT LIKE IN NEW YORK CITY I'm sorry I had to. Annabeth and Jason are quickly learning why people say OTP stands for Oh the Pain.**

**Disclaimer: I have homework. Rick Riordan doesn't.**

**WARNING: My Connor/Lacy shows in this chapter. I started shipping them a year or so back. Not entirely sure why, however. I guess I just did.**

**C**hapter 3: Skulls by Candlelight

SLAP! The knocking of the empty cardboard Starbucks coffee cup against the wooden table jolted everyone in the room out of whatever daze they had previously been in.

"I hereby call this emergency meeting of the Aphrodite branch of the Solangelo club to order!" Drew cried, throwing the cup behind her as she picked up another one, still steaming hot.

Surprisingly, having Drew as a leader was a whole lot more tolerable now. Lacy couldn't tell if it was because she had changed during the Giant War-really, they all had-or if it was because everyone was now devoted towards getting Will Solace and Nico di Angelo together. All of the cabins had called a temporary truce in order to work on getting them together. So far, this peace had been working out just fine, but Lacy knew it was only a matter of time until the Stolls cracked and pulled a prank on a cabin.

Oh, the Stolls. Lacy sighed dreamily as her thoughts drifted towards them. She knew that Travis would always belong to Katie-you couldn't find a single non-shipper in the Aphrodite cabin, and they were positive the same rang true for the Demeter and Hermes cabins. But Connor, however…

Oh, Connor was funny. So dreadfully funny! And his curly brown hair, falling lazily over his face and covering his bright blue eyes. And the way he moved, the way he spoke…So perfect. Utter perfection.

Lacy was jolted out of her daydream when two fingers snapped under her nose. She scowled at Mitchell, who merely jerked his head in Drew's direction. Lacy tuned back in to what the Korean girl had been telling the entire cabin that Lacy had missed all because of Connor Stoll, amazing, perfect, Connor Stoll.

"As we all know, the first two major attempts have failed."

"Two?" somebody called out.

"Yes, two. Annabeth and Jason tried to talk to Rachel about seeing into the future about Solangelo, but they had no success since her power is still cut off. And we all know how the Apollo cabin fared last week."

A series of grumbles rang throughout the room. Honestly! Serenading the couple with a Disney song? And not just any Disney song, but "Kiss the Girl?" And not even the original version, just their own modified one? How ridiculously cliché! And even though the Aphrodite cabin had a soft spot for cliché, sometimes you had to hit the limits on certain things. And "Kiss Nico" had smashed every single one of those limits.

"Are we still going for something cliché?" Mitchell asked.

Drew frowned, tapping an immaculate finger against her even more immaculate bottom lip. "Yeah, but not what they did. Serenading? Seriously? I don't think anyone's tried that since the movie came out! Which was…uh…"

"The 90's?"

Everyone jumped as head counselor Piper poked her head behind the bed sheet that the cabin was using to cover up their meeting. "Just got back from archery, sorry."

"What's the status on the OTP?" Drew asked her.

The relationship improvement between the two girls still took some getting used to. Lacy still couldn't believe that they were on speaking terms. She also couldn't believe that Piper was actually helping out with this quest to get Solangelo together. Out of all the Aphrodite kids, everyone would vote Piper "Least likely to help out the Club of a(n) ship/OTP." But Jason did start the fan club, along with Annabeth. And Piper was best friends with Annabeth, not to mention also dating Jason. It was more likely she was in it to help out her friends and boyfriend, but Lacy did appreciate that she put in effort for this ship.

"Will's actually hitting the white part of the target now. Can't say much about Nico, though. I honestly haven't seen him since lunch time. But Will did say that he was going to hang out with Nico later. Well, he said 'check up on him because he still can't do any Underworld-y stuff,' but we all know that he's really going to hang out with him for non-medical reasons."

"The look in his eyes?"

Piper grinned. "Oh, yes. Not saying that romantic ships aren't great, but the platonic level these two have is borderline romantic."

"At least if they don't get together as a couple, they'll make great friends!" Lexi called out. She was one of the aromantic/asexual Aphrodite children, so she had a great eye for great friendships. The rest of the cabin nodded in agreement. Platonic OTP's were always so much easier to get together than romantic OTP's, and spreading platonic love was also important! Even if one didn't desire romantic interactions, one will also desire friendship!

"I think Jason and Annabeth might actually die if they don't get in a romantic relationship, though. To tell the truth, it's actually funny. I didn't think they expected this amount of stress." Piper laughed as she walked over to Lacy and sat down beside her. Lacy waved a hand in greeting, and Piper waved back. "So, what's going on?" the Cherokee girl asked.

"After the disastrous attempt of the Apollo cabin last week, we decided that we'd have to launch our own move. To be honest, I'm surprised that they attempted before us! We, the children of the goddess of love herself, of all people!"

"It was either that or the Stolls pushing them in a closet," someone reminded Drew.

The Korean girl looked miffed. "Ugh. Let's not go there yet."

Nobody disagreed.

"Anyways, we're gonna need to step up our game! We need to play our own moves! We need to get them together using something that's cliché, but has our own twist on it!"

"Pushing them into a closet full of weaponry?" someone asked.

"Useful if it's involving a child of Ares, but no. However, when we're trying to get a child of Ares together with someone, we should use that."

"Have Nico drop a handkerchief with skulls on it? He's from the forties, they probably still did that back then," Mitchell suggested.

Everyone shrugged. "Will would freak out and think that he has a cold," Lexi said.

"Ah. Yeah, we'll save that as a last resort."

"A dance? For the entire camp? Wait, no, it's too soon, the war ended just last month and we're still cleaning things up."

Still more suggestions were thrown around.

"Ooh, ooh, I got it! We should have them marathon movies together!"

"Nico probably likes horror movies, and we all know how devoted Will is to Disney. Also, that's getting a little personal with their lives."

"Oh…"

"Set them up on a blind date with each other! That restaurant in Brooklyn near that weird abandoned warehouse that people say they see that mansion on sometimes-"

"Too complicated, we don't have the resources for that currently. And Nico will probably kill us, while Will wouldn't even go on it. Trust me."

"Put them in a room together?"

"Tempting, but no. Same concept as the closet."

"Switch stuff around so their training schedules are the exact same?"

"Will does infirmary work, and Nico tries to stay away from there."

As Lacy heard all the suggestions being thrown about, her mind went on full autopilot as it scrambled for an idea. And then one came. "I'VE GOT IT!"

Everyone jumped, then turned to face the blonde girl that had just leapt up. "What?" Drew asked.

"We want cliché with an original twist, yeah?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, I've heard that Nico is Italian. Right, Piper? I mean, you know him a little bit better than the rest of us do. Just saying."

Piper responded, "Yeah, he is, Lacy."

"Well, besides 'Kiss the Girl,' what's the most iconic romantic scene from Disney, that involves Italy? Well, not exactly Italy, but the food? With spaghetti and meatballs?"

Piper's kaleidoscope eyes dawned with understanding. "You don't mean-"

Mitchell hit himself on the head. "How could we ever forget?!"

Drew's eyes gleamed with evil intentions. "Yes. We are doing that. We are so. Doing. That."

*The scene is so obvious and cliché that I bring you this linebreak to make up for it*

"Are you kidding me?"

Nico facepalmed. He knew that he and Will had become an OTP, but this was just getting ridiculous.

The two boys had both received an anonymous note telling them to come to the pavilion thirty minutes prior to the usual dinner time. Curious, they had both obeyed the notes' instructions, although when Nico learned that Will had also been invited, he had an underlying suspicion that a certain cabin had been involved.

And boy, was he right.

The Hades table had been cleaned up, the black velvet tablecloth straightened out and obviously ironed, and Nico could've that he smelled something fresh in the air surrounding the table. Febreeze created to smell like flowers? Actual flowers? Rose and daisy perfume? The rotting corpse of a Demeter child? He couldn't tell, although the last one would have been a nice touch.

Honestly, he could've just lived with having his table cleaned up. He was always too lazy to pick up after himself, which was funny because he was good at dusting and washing dishes and even making some food. But cleaning up? Nope. So he was actually glad that someone had put in the effort to sweep and wipe down his table. He might've even gone out to find and thank them. But that was not all that had been done to his table.

There was a candleholder on his table with three candles lit inside it. It was black, with skulls adorning it. It looked like something straight out of a romantic dinner that Mr. and Mrs. Addams of the Addams family would be holding. A sprinkling of blood red rose petals lingered near the base of the candleholder. For all Nico knew, it was actual blood shaped to look like rose petals.

But the worst thing was the food. There was one heaping platter of spaghetti and meatballs, with tomato sauce all over it. Two forks and knives were placed on either side of the plate, obviously meant for one person only. There were aso two fancy wine glasses, empty, with a bottle of sparkling water lying next to them. A little card was lying next to the plate as well. Nico couldn't read the words because it was written in cursive, but he would bet all of his drachmas that it was wishing him and Will a happy dinner.

"Lady and the Tramp," Will muttered. "Freaking Lady and the..." He sighed and ran his fingers through his messy curls of blonde hair. "I should have seen this coming."

Even when he was annoyed, Nico couldn't help but to feel the skeletal butterflies flutter in his stomach at the mere thought of Will Solace. Standing next to the boy himself just put them into overdrive.

It wasn't until the Appolo cabin event last week that Nico realized how close he was letting himself get to the son of Apollo. He could easily open up a little more around himand he waslo easy to talk to. He was also a good listener, willing to give a shoulder (Sometimes he was afraid Will would do that literally) to anyone who needed one.

But he had his downsides. He was always forcing the patients in the infirmary to stick to whatever he had assigned them with. He also stuck rigidly to the rules, and he had a way of goading people into things. He was extremely straightforward and refused to take "no" for an answer.

But Nico knew that all of these things only made him fall harder and harder for Will Solace.

Of course, Will probably didn't return Nico's feelings. After all, Will probably was as straight as a straight angle, while Nico was a quadratic in terms of heterosexuality. Shameful, really. Loving someone who could never love you back because of gender. But Nico would get over it at some point,he was sure. After all, he had gotten over Percy, hadn't he?

At least, he hoped that he could get over Will. He wasn't sure if he ever could.

Will sighed, jolting Nico out of his thoughts. "Alright. Let's go, Sunshine. As much as I love pasta, who knows who's behind this. Let's go before Mitchell or Drew or someone forces us to actually eat all that. And with that, he turned around and march out of the pavilion, straight in the direction of the supply sheds. Nico scoffed at his permanently fixed nickname, but followed him anyways.

As they walked, Nico sudenly spoke up. "I can't believe you're taking this so well."

Will snorted. "I'm only minutes away from breaking a bow on somebody's head."

Nico wasn't sure where all of this sudden strength to talk was comig from, but he just decided to go along with it. "Well, yeah, so am I, but..."He decided to chance it. "We're boh boys..."

Will stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Nico, blinking. Then he snorted. His snort turn into a chuckle. The chuckle turned into a laugh. The laugh turned into a guffaw, and before he knew it Will was lying in the fetal postion on the ground in front of Nico, because of his laughter.

Nico finally asked, "What'd I say?"

Will pulled himself into a seated position, still hooting with mirth. "Your forties are showing," he said weakly, standing back up

Nico crossed his arms. "I'm confused."

Just when Will had opened his mouth to reply, however,something slammed into Nico and sent him flying into Will. He barely had time to cry out before they both tumbled into somewhere empty and dark. A door closed behind them and a lock clicked.

They were locked.

Locked in a closet.

**Anyone got any more requests? Because I'm sorta following a little plot line I cooked up using the requests I've gotten, and I need a few more chapters to put in between major plot events. Yeah, I said plot. After all, this is leading up to the canonizing of Solangelo. Completely disregard my rule that said I will only take one request per review, I take it completely back. First chance I get I am going to edit that rule out completely.**

**I really hope at least one person sends in a Halloween-themed request, Halloween is my favorite holiday!**

**On a side note, should I change the story name? I mean, I like it, but I'm not exactly getting that "READ ME!" vibe off of it, if you know what I mean.**

**And I wrote like a few Solangelo one-shots that I'll probably upload Monday. My computer is being weird about the documents right now, so I'm honestly not sure when they'll be up.**

**Eh. Oh well. Guess that's the price I gotta play for being fabulous.**

**And who caught the Kane Chronicles reference? Speaking of which Rick Riordan please write a crossover between PJO and Kane Chronicles please amen.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	4. Chapter 4: Coming Out of the Closet

**I would like to clarify that I have read "The Son of Sobek" and will soon read "The Staff of Serapis." I meant that I want like an actual series about the two combined. Sorry if there was any confusion!**

**And here's why I said I would update on Monday, even though I didn't because of school and I caught the stomach bug: Monday was my birthday!  
**

**Percy: HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TAILSDOLL! *throws giant ball of confetti***

**Nico: *ducks confetti***

**Will: *gets hit in the face by confetti***

**Percy: Oops?  
**

**It was a pretty good birthday! I got Wizard of Oz plushies, an iTunes gift card, Barnes and Noble gift card, $200 dollars in cash from assorted people, TARDIS earrings and shirt, A CAMP JUPITER SHIRT I ACTUALLY SCREAMED AHHHHH, two John Green books, Cinder, a regular shirt, and a Frozen cup! I also got a drawing from one friend and part of a story from another! It was great!**

**Also, finally the closet chapter! Credit for this scene goes to the lovely Queen Ore-Sama and the marvelous Agana of the night!**

**REVIEWS**

**Guest: I AM HAPPY TO MAKE YOU HAPPY THIS IS A GREAT REVIEW IT IS NOT LONG REVIEW THIS ALL YOU WANT MY DEAR SWVJA;G;VHY[;AGVHA;**

**Hmm, I haven't noticed that before. I do know that Nico's first name is used for Perico and Jasico. I'll have to look into it. Thanks for pointing it out!**

**DoomgirlForever: Great to see you again too.**

**Ana-DaughterofHades: I am getting so many requests for Nico and Will in costumes and trick-or-treating ahah. I'll whip them all up into one big chapter for Halloween! And I need to read Staff of Serapis ahah.**

**Guest: Nico is surprised because of the Stolls' surprise attack. He will shadow-travel them out, although Will's gonna fuss over him afterwards.**

**Donakiko: Thanks! Oh man Jason would totally do that. And when Nico finds out he'd just ignore Jason and Jason would panic and everyone would be like "Jason you need to sit down for a bit." Ah yes giant trick or treat party ahah.**

**SecretPrussianCitizen: Ah yes it does. I like your idea for their costumes, but Sabrina-luna-potter suggested a skeleton and the sun and I'm torn between which one is better.**

**ThisSentenceIsALie: Oh my goodness thank you! TLO Nico will always be my favorite Nico. I am aggressively channeling him into my writing. And thanks about my Will! I perceived him as the guy who's a great people person but is immensely stubborn and when you forget to take care of yourself he freaks and does it himself while scolding you haha. It's a video game, and cake is awesome.**

**Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu: I NEED APOLLO AND WILL BONDING TIME NOW HHH *flails* Yes, I will write that chapter!**

**Kifo Entiegon: Yes, it's the Stolls! Percy would probably try to do it all by himself lol. And I was going to write Leo returning to camp and joining the club in the next chapter, so thanks for that idea!**

**ItMeGabs: Yes. Yes. All of my yes. I am going to write them as sassy as possible now lol. And your English is great! If you need any help with it, though, let me know!**

**CheetosPotato: Thanks! Maybe I won't change it after all, then! *ba dum tshh* I have so many of the jokes in this lol.**

**Mourningsongg: Thanks! Haha, I'm going to. I had an idea for another chapter which I'll probably write for Chapter 14 or so. Yeah, I feel like I mischaracterized Drew a little, although she's gonna be more like her canon self in this chapter. She would totally flirt with Will I need to write that now. I will have to work more on making characters meaner, I suck at writing rude characters.**

**dauntlessinthetardis: I had to lie down and question my decisions that led up to this moment after reading your review oh my god.**

**Blackberry Explosion: Yes, I like the idea of a costume service! Not quite sure if I'll go with the costumes you suggested since other people have suggested some as well! Wow, seriously? Never noticed that either. Nico is bae I love him I would date if if he didn't belong with Will haha.**

**Guest (who reviewed chapter 2 asking about Leo): I FORGOT TO RESPOND I AM SO SORRY LEO IS NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE**

**Winkylovesdobby: Winky/Dobby forever yo. Oh goodness yes aggressive concerned Will he would be shoving a thermometer down Nico's throat haha.**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: OH MY GOD WHERE IS THAT MUST SEE IT NOW BRB**

**Maya-chan2007: Thank you so much! Oh my god I actually need that know why are you making me want things you guys. Are you suggesting I add Carter because if so I ACCEPT THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE *dumps ice water on head* I hope not to disappoint!**

**Yami no Tsuki: Thanks! Wait, she's Japanese? I read somewhere that she was Korean...ugh, I have to change that now. But thanks for pointing it out! And thanks again!**

**Angela: When I saw your last request I had to sit down and laugh because it is so ridiculously canon. I am definitely going to use your ideas, so expect them soon!**

**Disclaimer: October 20th is my birthday, and Rick Riordan's birthday is NOT October 20th.**

**Leo: How do we know?**

**Me: Says so on his Wikipedia page.**

**Leo: He could be LYYIIIIIIING...**

**Me: You are such a conspiracy theory lover, aren't you.**

**Leo: You know I am, baby.**

**Me: You have a girlfriend.**

**Leo: Uh...**

**Calypso: *fuming***

**Leo: BYE! *runs off screaming while Calypso chases him***

* * *

**C**hapter 4: Coming Out of the Closet

"Yes!"

Connor Stoll high-fived his twin brother, Travis. They had done it! They had finally locked Nico di Angelo and Will Solace in a closet! Finally, all the tension would clear. Plus, when they did get together in the closet, the truce would be off, and the twins could finally go back to pranking the assorted cabins.

"Aw, sweet!" Travis laughed. "We should've done this sooner, bro! Man, I've been itching to get my pranking game back on!"

"All too true, brother of mine, all too true. How much do you think the other cabins will thank us?"

"Jason will be bowing before us, kissing our feet, while Annabeth grudgingly admits that we beat her and Jason to getting them together. After all, they did start the fan club, so they'd probably want to be known as the people who got Solangelo together."

Connor snorted. "'Probably' doesn't even begin to cut it. I've heard Piper lamenting about Jason's captivity on his OTP. They've gotten so wrapped into it—"

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

Connor and Travis both jumped about five thousand feet in the air, which in reality was only about two feet. Travis sprinted forward about three yards out of shock, then realized what he had done and backtracked to go back to his original position next to Connor.

Gulping, they both turn around to face a very close to literally steaming Drew Tanaka marching towards them.

"YOU IDIOTS! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING! WE HAD A PERFECTLY NICE DINNER SET OUT FOR THEM, AND WHAT DID YOU DO?! SHUT THEM IN A CLOSET! SERIOUSLY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW RIDICULOUS THAT IS?! NO WONDER NEITHER OF YOU HAVE DATED ANYONE YET! YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF ROMANCE!"

"I'm scared," Travis whispered.

"We should run," agreed Connor.

Drew continued yelling, switching to Ancient Greek, then to an extremely heated Japanese. Connor was actually glad that he couldn't translate what she was saying. The threats in Ancient Greek were bad enough. Especially that one insult about his mom. That was uncalled for.

"Hey, c'mon, Drew! We were just trying to help out, y'know?" Travis raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"HELP MY FOOT! DID JASON AND ANNABETH EVEN SAY YOU COULD DO THIS?! BECAUSE I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!"

"We're the Stolls! The rules don't apply to us!" Connor proclaimed, puffing out his chest.

"Plus, um, we're not really members. That's Chris." Travis admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"Also, is there an active rule stating that we can't shove Will and Nico in a closet—"

"—Because I don't think that there is one!"

"We can hear you, y'know," came a muffled voice from the supply cabinet.

"We know!" The twins cried cheerily.

Drew put her face in her hands. "Oh, gods of Olympus. The club was supposed to be a secret, and now they know!" She brought her head back up to glare accusingly at them. "And it's all your faults! If you two were children of Aphrodite and I was still head counselor, you would both be wearing the white boots and have trash duty for the rest of Mr. D's service here!" Thunder rumbled.

Connor stepped forward, hands clasped in a half-apologetic, half-lecturing sort of way. "Well, your threats have established how scary you are—"

"—And how glad we are not to be in your cabin!" Travis chimed in, stepping next to Connor in the exact same position.

"But in our defense—"

"—They were going to find out anyways—"

"—So we just hastened the process!" The Stolls chorused, then bowed eerily in sync. Or not so eerily, depending on how well you knew them.

Drew groaned. "You-you two are so-UGH!" She stomped her foot angrily. "I swear to Zeus, Travis, one of these days I'll find a curse that means Katie will never like you back!"

Travis gulped, and his face turned bright red. "W-what?!"

Connor started laughing, until Drew swiveled her glare to face him, and he gulped too. "And if I ever find out who _you_ like, Connor—"

"Whoa, hold on a second there, that's a little too far!" he protested.

"IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT!"

"Um, Drew?"

A blonde girl had suddenly appeared behind Drew, causing the arguing trio to stiffen and stifle gasps of surprise. She had slipped in unbeknownst during their heated debate. Connor's heart started to pound a little faster.

The girl was Lacy, from Cabin 10. Drew's half-sister. Connor hadn't spoken to her much, but that didn't stop his heart from forming a small fondness for the younger girl. She just emitted a cheery aura around her, along with the natural radiation of beauty that all children of the goddess of love, be they Roman or Greek, emitted.

Lacy frowned up at Drew. "Drew, the, uh, other members of the cabin wanted to know where Will and Nico went…?"

"Shut up!" Drew snapped at her. Lacy shrunk back, and Connor got a little mad. Of course, if Drew had snapped at anyone like that, Connor would've gotten mad. Even though the war had changed her, like it had to everyone, Drew still retained part of her older personality. He'd heard she was nicer in her cabin now, but that didn't really ring true for outside of it.

"Chill, Drew, she was just asking a question," Connor reprimanded the Japanese teenager.

Drew scowled. "Don't talk to me, Stoll. Both of you!"

"He's right, Drew! Just let the girl go!" Travis piped up, sliding next to Connor and putting an arm across his shoulders. Connor did the same.

Drew narrowed her eyes at him.

Connor fake-whispered, "Travis, I think she needs some encouragement."

"I agree!" Travis fake-whispered back.

Then they started to sing.

"_LET HER GOOOOO_

_LET HER GOOOOO!_

_CAN'T HOLD HER BACK ANY MOOOOOOORRRE!_

_LET HER GOOOOO_

_LET HER GOOOOO-"_

"AGH!" Drew threw her hands up into the air. "I give up! Lacy, _you_ deal with these idiots!" And with that, the former head of the Aphrodite cabin turned straight around and marched back in the direction of the mess hall, presumably to bark orders at whichever members of the Aphrodite cabin were there.

When she was out of earshot, Lacy turned back around to beam at the two boys, the smile making her seem even more beautiful, if possible. "Thanks, you guys!"

The happiness radiating from her nearly knocked both boys over, Connor especially. In any case, he only stumbled back one or two steps. "Uh, thanks, Lacy!" he stammered.

Travis gave him a weird look, but said nothing.

"So!" Lacy's smile dimmed down some. "Where are Nico and Will?"

"We shoved them into a supply shed," Travis answered quickly, then coughed.

The smile slid off her face, only to be replaced by a look of shock. _"WHAT?!" _she squawked.

Connor and Travis winced. "We're so sorry," Connor said.

Lacy rubbed her temples, sighing. "You know what? Let's just let them out." She marched up to the door of the supply shed, fumbled with the latch that locked said door, then flung it open.

The world stood silent for a minute or two, and then Lacy made a weird sound in the back of her throat. "They're gone."

Another moment of silence. Then, _"WHAT?!"_

***Where did Will and Nico go? Stay tuned after this linebreak.***

Will sat up, groaning. He couldn't see a thing in the darkness. Something slid off of him, and made a moaning noise.

_Nico._

"Oh, jeez!" Will muttered a few unflattering words in Ancient Greek. "I'm gonna kill whoever shoved us in here!"

"Don't bother, I've already decided to," a disembodied voice said from the darkness. Will jumped.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he gasped. "It's so dark in here, I can't see a thing!"

"Me either. Hang on, where are you…?"

Will started moving his hand around on the ground, and a similar scuffling sound confirmed Nico was doing the same. A few moments later, their hands met, and a jolt ran up Will's arm.

It was a familiar jolt. He'd felt it the first time he had taken Nico's hand, up on Half-Blood Hill before the war had come to its climax. He had taken it other times since then, and each time that same jolt had happened. And each time, he was curious as to why.

It wasn't that Will was as straight as a straight angle, of course. He knew that he liked boys. He'd found himself gaining a few crushes during his time at Camp Half-Blood, all males. His cabin had been quite accepting of this fact, obviously. After all, their father himself had had romances with other men during the times of Ancient Greece, and they wouldn't have been surprised if he still was now. Even though it was weird to say it. _Hey, my dad has flings with mortal men, like he did with my mom!_ Nobody liked going into their parent's love lives, both mortals and immortals.

No, it was because Will wasn't quite sure on his feelings for Nico, although he knew that they had definitely started as platonic. He hadn't really talked to the kid until after the Battle of Manhattan, even though he had seen him a few times before. He'd wanted to talk to him earlier, but after seeing the kid push everyone away, he decided not to. In fact, that first real talk hadn't even been a talk, it was mostly Will checking up on him after the battle, like all the other Apollo kids were doing to the other campers. After talking to the kid, he wanted to try to become friends with him again. He seemed like a nice enough guy when he wasn't trying to stare you down into the earth, and the subterranean world of his father's realm beneath it, maybe even below it into Tartarus if he hated you enough.

But after Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had _finally_ gotten together-which had taken, what five years? Gods, Will was old-Nico came around Camp Half-Blood even less, if that was possible. And then when Percy disappeared, Nico all but disappeared right along with him. Will wasn't too worried, of course. He knew fully well that Nico could take care of himself. But he couldn't help but worry, since he still wanted to be his friend.

And even now, almost two months after the Giant War has ended and everyone was pretty much okay, Will was still surprised that he was Nico's friend. Why wouldn't he be? He'd kinda forced himself onto the kid. And Will and Nico were also two very different people. For starters, their parents were polar opposites: God of the sun and god of the dead. And there was also their appearances. Nico's wavy black hair was a stark contrast to Will's sunny blonde curls, and even though his skin was beginning to retain its original olive coloring, Nico was still pretty pale compared to Will's dark skin. And their personalities, obviously. Nico was the king of doom and gloom and sulked around all the time when he was awake. Meanwhile, Will was quite easygoing when he was relaxed and not in a foul mood, and had a general reputation as a bit of a social butterfly. Anyone who didn't know the two would look at them and question why they even knew each other in the first place.

But when Will had dragged him into the infirmary for three days, their friendship had begun. It had mostly been Nico grumbling and Will stopping him from escaping every five seconds, but when Will wasn't performing impromptu surgery or stitching another wound, he was by di Angelo's bedside. Nico started talking to him out of sheer boredom on the evening of the first day, and that was when the two had really hit it together. After that, the two were generally seen together, although Nico preferred to hang out with his other friends when he wasn't with Will. Will understood, of course. They've known Nico longer than he had, so it wouldn't be right for him to get jealous that Nico had known other people longer than Will had. And besides, Will seemed to be the only other person that Nico would hang out with, anyways.

But the jolting was making Will think more about his feelings for the son of Hades. Did he want to be Nico's friend at least? Yes, he did. Did he want to be more than a friend?

That was where Will was unsure.

He definitely enjoyed Nico's company a lot, a bit more than some people that he knew. Of course, it may be because he was a newer friend, and whenever you get a new friend you want to hang out with them a lot. Maybe it was because he was helping Nico get caught up on the modern times since he missed seventy years of history and pop culture-Three Harry Potter movies to go, four season of Doctor Who left, and he was definitely going to take him to see the first Mockingjay movie, along with all the other campers who were going too-so he had sort of developed a student-teacher relationship with the younger boy.

**(A/N: Someone's going to make a dirty joke about that, I just know it.)**

Whatever it was, he was definitely enjoying time with the son of Hades' more than he expected himself to.

"Uh, Will? You okay?"

What? Will snapped out of his thoughts. In the background, he heard someone that sounded suspiciously like Drew yelling, switching from English to Ancient Greek. Both boys winced. For the people who usually sat out of Capture the Flag, the Aphrodite kids came up with some great insults. Although it isn't nice to say that about someone's mom, Drew, Will thought.

"Okay, keep your hand still," Will said, and he ran his hand up Nico's arm until he reached his shoulder, then ran it across his shoulder to his neck-Nico let out a shaky breath when he did this, and Will filed that away for later-until finally his hand was on top of his head, wrapped in Nico's oily black hair. "Okay, now I know where you are! Now stand up carefully," Will instructed as he started to rise, and when his hand did too he knew Nico was doing the same.

"Way to make things awkward."

"It's not my fault it's dark!" Outside, the yelling turned into a furious Japanese. Will winced. "Okay, that was a new one."

"You understood that?" Nico's voice was tinged with disbelief.

"Eh, a bit. It's because Dad is so obsessed with haikus, everyone in my cabin knows a bit of Japanese if they aren't Japanese already. And don't ask me to translate, I'm not sure if I want to. I didn't even understand all of it, just a few words here and there."

"Hey, c'mon, Drew! We were just trying to help out, y'know?"

"The Stolls. She's yelling at the Stolls," Will realized.

Nico snorted. "Big surprise."

"HELP MY FOOT! DID JASON AND ANNABETH EVEN SAY YOU COULD DO THIS?! BECAUSE I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!"

"What do they have to do with anything?" Nico muttered, then paused. "Oh, great. The OTP thing."

Will groaned. "This is getting out of hand. We need to talk to someone about this."

"More like the entire camp."

"We're the Stolls! The rules don't apply to us!"

"Plus, um, we're not really members. That's Chris."

"Members? Members of what?" Will whispered.

"Also, is there an active rule stating that we can't shove Will and Nico in a closet—"

"—Because I don't think that there is one!"

"We can hear you, y'know," Nico spoke loudly.

"We know!"

"Oh, gods of Olympus. The club was supposed to be a secret, and now they know!"

"Did-did they-" Will spluttered. "Oh my gods, they seriously formed a club about us! Okay, we definitely need to talk to someone about this."

"Yeah." Under his hand, Will felt Nico shudder.

"Hey, you alright?" The blonde's previously annoyance was replaced with concern.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, just cold. It's awfully cool in here."

"Really? Haven't noticed."

"You radiate warmth. You have no idea how warm my head feels because you're resting your hand on it."

"Oh, yeah." Will paused. "Uh, if you're cold, do want me to, uh, stand a little closer to you?" The son of Apollo started to feel his cheeks heat up. _Calm down,_ he told himself. _Nico's just a friend. A possibly straight friend, but a friend nonetheless. Wait, why think about his sexuality?_

"Sure."

"Eh?"

Nico sighed. "Yes, Will, you can stand closer to me."

"Oh! Sorry. Right. Okay." Will shuffled closer to Nico's voice until he bumped into him. In the dark, he thought he could make out a faint outline of a person. "Better?"

"Much."

The two boys were in silence once again, until Nico asked, "What do you mean by 'your forties are showing?'"

Damn. Will had nearly forgotten about that. "Uh, yeah, about that…There's a lot more marriage equality in the world now."

"Marriage equality?"

"Y'know…" Will felt his face heat up, but for a different reason than before. Nico was from a time of prejudice towards people, back before the fifties and sixties when people like Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to change what the world thought. It would make sense for him to reject homosexuality, but it still twisted at something inside Will. He felt that if Nico rejected homosexuality, he would be rejecting _Will_ himself. "…When people aren't attracted to the opposite gender, but to their own gender. It's called homosexuality, and more people are being allowed to marry their own gender around the world."

"Really?" Will could've sworn he heard relief in Nico's voice. "Is there anyone like that at camp?"

Will wanted to collapse with relief. Whoever had raised his friend had done it right. But the next part wouldn't be so easy. "Uh, yeah. I am."

"Oh." Nico's voice was weird. Then he said, "I, uh…me too."

A choir of heavenly angels started to sing in Will's mind. "Cool! High five?" Will stuck his other hand out, then realized. "Oh, wait. It's dark."

"Yeah." They paused again. A higher-pitched voice had joined Drew and the Stolls outside, one which Will identified as Lacy. "Hey, I know I'm not really supposed to, but can we just shadow-travel out of here? It's really cold in here, and at this rate they're probably gonna leave us in here."

Will thought about it. On one hand, it had been two months since Nico had shadow-traveled anywhere, so he should be okay for short trips now. And since it was so dark, the son of Hades wouldn't have to exert himself to grab onto the shadows, since he would be surrounded by them. On the other hand, if he faded away doing this, Will would personally travel down into the Underworld, find Nico's spirit, and kill him all over again.

Will sighed. "Alright, fine. But you can't do it again, unless if I say so. And make it a short jump. Like, say, to the Big House."

"Alright." A hand suddenly grasped Will's wrist, startling him and causing him to flush. "But hold on tight."

Suddenly it became even darker, if possible, and Will nearly fell over. Voices were screaming in pain, and countless whispers filled his ears, some even in languages he didn't even understand. He forced himself to stay calm.

And then he was blinking in the light of the lamps in the Ping-Pong room where the counselors met. He gasped, and then he saw that Jason Grace, Piper Mclean, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and the visiting Romans Hazel Levasque, Frank Zhang-oh, Will remembered him from last week and his cabin, all right-and Reyna Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was were gathered.

Nico and Will stepped away from each other. "Nico? What's going on?" Hazel asked.

"The Stolls locked me and Will in a closet, so we had to shadow-travel out," Nico explained.

"The question is, why are you all in here? And what fan club?" Will looked pointedly at Jason and Annabeth, who gave each other _Uh-oh_ looks.

Before anyone could answer, a moaning noise caused Will to turn around, and see someone he thought he'd never see again.

* * *

**So yeah, because of the stomach bug I have to miss school today. At least I'm doing something productive, I had to do a thing on what to do to help prevent child abuse before I start work as a YMCA volunteer. Ah, man, that was hard to get through. I've also come up with chapter names for up to chapter 17, and then a few beyond which I haven't been able to place on the timeline event yet. I want to try to wrap this up in December, preferably around Christmas, because someone suggested they get together during a Christmas party and I am a sucker for Christmas-y couple things. Look at "Ten Days of Couples" if you don't believe me! I'll probably cram in some major hours of work this weekend and today, although I'm reluctant to start the next chapter until this is up-and-running and I have at least one review. What can I say? It inspires me! Let's just hope I don't throw up again bleah.  
**

**Also, because the nine weeks just ended, I know that school is really going t pick up from now on, so updates will become less frequent. I'll try to write as much as I can today, tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to get ahead of the game, so instead of having to stress about writing the next chapter I'll just have to click the file and upload it! But if I do lag behind I'm sorry.**

**Also you guys should see the file names I save these chapters under they're perfection.**

**Annabeth: Cake time! *pulls out cookie cake for me***

**Everyone: Yay!**

**Will: That does not look healthy.**

**Nico: Will I don't think anyone cares.**

**Will: WELL I DO**

**Nico: *facepalms***

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	5. Chapter 5: It's Too Early to Rise

**OH MY GOD THE HOMESTUCK UPD8 ON SATURDAY**

**I COULD NOT DO ANYTHING FOR THE REST OF THE WEEKEND OH MY GOD**

_**I ACTUALLY DIED OH MY GOD**_

**ALL MY HOMESTUCK READERS YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT**

**ALL MY NON-HOMESTUCK READERS**

**WELL LET'S JUST SAY WE OFFICIALLY HAVE AT LEAST SEVEN MORE DEAD CHARACTERS**

**(SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE UPDATE OR HOMESTUCK: ROXY ZAPPED ROSE AWAY SO IDK WHAT ROSE'S LIFE STATUS IS NOW EVEN THOUGH SHES PROBABLY DEAD AND TEREZI IS ALSO UNCONFIRMED WOW)**

**AND LEAVE IT AT THAT**

**I AM GOING TO DIE I S2G**

**69 reviews...hee hee...**

**REVIEWS**

**TheKookieKing11: I apologize, my friend. Keep your mind intact, it's valuable.**

**MidnightEeve: I'm sure you can think of something, my friend!**

**(I got a request for a closet chapter HOW AM I NOT GOING TO WRITE A SCENE WHERE CHARACTERS COME OUT OF THE CLOSET WHILE THEY'RE IN A CLOSET)**

**TheHyperNarcoleptic: Reading this fanfiction already makes you an honorary member. There is no escape, I'm afraid. And can I join yours?**

**afhirnessfearness0423: I'll try! School is tough and I haven't got medication for my ADHD yet...**

**moonshroom420: I'll just respond to your reviews in chapter order. Yes, it is world wide, and if you don't ship it the fans will come in the night to convert you. I AM ACTUALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY HAVENT KISSED YET IN CANON but if they had kissed that would've been weird because their friendship is just beginning. Yes I am the funny stuff. Maybe later, and it won't be for Solangelo. I already have plans for how they get together. YES IT HAS HAPPENED. YOU'LL FIND OUT SOOOOOOON.**

**Para-seli: Well seeing as how I'm planning on ending this in December, it's gonna drag out for awhile. Also because Solangelo being dorky friends while secretly liking each other is very important to me okay.**

**readeatcook: Also responding in chapter order okay. Haha, wow, I'm actually writing someone's favorite story? Jason's girly voice will quite possibly return! And I really need that club in my life now lol. I know that now, I just read somewhere a long time ago that she was Korean and just went with it. Oh, yes, Lexi is both aromantic and asexual! Also, she will return, and I'll also touch more on the topic of platonic relationships! Along with a few other asexual/aromantic characters (I've subconsciously headcanoned Lacy as demisexual and I've only just realized lol. Yeah, I probably won't change it until something greater strikes me. Oh, man, Will updating Nico on everything modern is so important to me. I might write the meal thing as something separate, though. STUDYING IS IMPORTANT YOU MUST STUDY. Yes, good for me!**

**CheetosPotato: How could I resist writing a closet chapter without the greatest closet joke of all times? You want them to make out, don't you? I'll probably try writing that at one point, probably as a drabble. Hmm, don't think that I've written a make-out scene before, so that will be good practice! And Nico is the one who needs to make his feelings known, as of now Will is still undecided on his. But that will all change come Chapter 6…And thanks for that birthday gift! Which reminds me. AY, CUPID! APHRODITE! WHEN WILL I HAVE MY FIRST DATE?!**

**Cupid: *pinching nose, which is bleeding ichor slightly* At this rate, never.**

**Me: Well then. I see how it is. Be glad I'm too scared of your mom to attempt killing you, Cupid boy.**

**Guest: That's a little too violent, dontcha think? Also, if you kill me, how will anyone update this?**

**Spiesareawesome: Great to see that you're still reading! Aw, snap, I should've brought up ying and yang as a reference! *smacks head on keyboard***

**Sierratheawesome: How's the next day good enough for you?**

**Blackberry Explosion: I write nothing but perfection, sweetheart. *Choir of heavenly angels start singing "Ode to Joy"* No, I don't want to kill you! I only kill people I don't like, like Justin Bieber! I could not resist it. If people send in more requests, it's probably going to be more.**

**Rainbowchameleon: Haha, thanks!**

**FangirlingTooHard: EEEE IM GLAD TO MAKE YOU HAPPY FRIEND w They are the dorkiest of the dorks. Who doesn't, besides Octavian? Yeah, it is. I'll try!**

**DoomgirlForever: Thanks! I rejected it at first as well, but it quickly grew on me too. Like a mushroom.**

**BalletBookworm: Thanks! And thanks for the birthday wishes!**

**Queen Ore-sama: ALWAYS FEEL PROUD OF YOURSELF MY FRIEND AHHH *coughs harder* Thank you so much for the praise! Yeah, I loved writing that part! Thanks, and I'll try! Oh my god I just had the best idea involving that. "Let me get this straight: You guys. Left me and Nico here. Alone. WHILE YOU WENT TO SEE MOCKINGJAY WITHOUT US?"**

**P.S. I would say I'm not surprised but that would be rude.**

**AGHHHH YOU USED MY IDEA IM SO PROUD OF MYSELF! *cough* and I'm proud of you, too, of course. Awesome - especially that part where they find out about the club! Good for you and update soon! Ooh, next, leave them at camp ALL ALONE WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS IN MANHATTAN OR SOMETHING.**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Don't let Nico hear you say that.**

**Nico: I AM A DEMON CHILD OF THE NIGHT**

**Hikaru Itsuko: Every other character, I presume. Don't fall off the cliff, Percy and Annabeth barely survived when they did.**

**Disclaimer: Rick is married. I have not been on a date yet.**

**Percy: You could just be hiding your secret love life from us.**

**Me: You mean that fictional boyfriend my friend came up with for me in seventh grade?**

**Percy: What?**

**Me: I mean, you mean all the fictional boyfriends that are characters in love with other people?**

**Percy: That's not what you said.**

**Me: Don't push me, hotcakes.**

* * *

**C**hapter 5: It's Too Early to Rise

It wasn't every day that a giant metal dragon flew into your camp, even if you were a demigod.

It also wasn't every day that that metal dragon happened to be carrying a friend whom you thought had been dead for just about two months, and you didn't know whether to strangle or hug that friend.

In Piper's case, it was both.

"LEO VALDEZ!" The daughter of Aphrodite marched right up to the dragon as the scrawny Latino hopped off of it, his grin faltering slightly. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"Chillax, Beauty Queen. Papa Leo's home, safe and sound!" He spread his arms out wide. "Can I have a hug now?"

In the two months that had passed after the explosion, Leo had changed. His dark brown curls had grown out wilder and curlier, halfway down his neck. He was also tanner and thinner, and if Piper wasn't mistaken, he had actually grown a bit taller. But his grin was still the same, the exact same _I'm-going-to-blow-everything-up! _grin that still made her uneasy whenever she looked at it.

She punched him in the face.

"Ow!" Leo staggered back, clutching where Piper had punched him, which was his nose. "Jeez, I just got here! And I don't want my nosebleed to bring Gaea back!"

"Leo, as much as I've missed you, I take offense," Percy said from somewhere behind Piper.

"I knew you would."

Piper waited for Leo to regain his footing, then said, "That was for dying and leaving us here blaming ourselves for two freaking _months_, Repair Boy."

"Yeah, yeah, I knew you would." Leo waved her off.

Then Piper grabbed Leo by his suspenders and pulled him in for a kiss. She was so enraged about what her best friend (she would say that Jason was her best friend as well, but they were dating, so that didn't really count) had done, but that didn't mean she hadn't missed him and swore up and down that the next time she saw the Latino, she would embrace him and then dropkick him into next week.

When she broke the kiss, Leo was dazed, then muttered, "Please tell me you and Jason didn't break up while I was gone and you fell irreversibly in love with me, because I'm taken."

"That was the most platonic kiss I could muster, Leo. And that was for coming back."

"Leo!" Jason suddenly appeared next to them and swept Leo up in a hug, nearly strangling the boy. "Oh my gods, you survived! I was worried sick!"

And then it finally kicked in for Piper. Leo was back. _Leo_ was back. Leo _was_ back. Leo was _back_. _Leo was back._

"HE'S BACK!" she screamed, then hugged Jason while he was hugging Leo still. "OH MY GODS HE'S ACTUALLY BACK HE'S ACTUALLY BACK LEO FREAKING VALDEZ IS ACTUALLY BACK!" She half-sobbed the last part, refusing to let go.

A clamor of voices rose up around her as the rest of the Seven joined the group hug: Hazel and Frank crying, the worst of the blame finally being lifted off of their shoulders, Percy whooping, Annabeth laughing, Jason whooping as well, and Leo asking to be put down before he died of strangulation. But the choking-up of his voice told Piper that he had missed everyone just as much as they had all missed him, which was saying something.

And then a new voice asked, "Excuse me, but are you the rest of the Seven?"

The group hug broke apart-it took a little bit of time to untangle everyone-and everyone turned to face the owner of the new voice.

It was a girl, with willowy limbs, caramel hair pulled in a ponytail, and greasy casual clothes. She looked to be about Piper's age, maybe a little older, but her eyes seemed so old that Piper could tell she had lived for a very long time. She was breathtakingly beautiful, even with the clothes, and for a moment Piper wondered if she was Aphrodite herself, although seeing her mother around her age was pretty disorienting.

But apparently she wasn't, for Percy yelled, "Calypso!"

Calypso? Calyp-oh. The girl on the island that had fallen for Percy, and was now Leo's girlfriend! So that's where she went! Piper remembered the panic Percy had been in when he had asked the gods to free Calypso from her island and found out that Calypso had somehow managed to leave. Even if he had harbored no romantic interest in the girl, he still wanted to be her friend, and to apologize properly for any hurt that he had caused her. They had all secretly hoped Leo had found a way, but they didn't think it was very likely.

"Oh, Percy!" When the girl smiled, it was so warm and inviting Piper couldn't help but smile back. "Gods, you've grown."

"Yeah, it's a pretty weird feeling. Oh, um, I guess you'd like to meet Annabeth, also Leo didn't tell you about the syrup incident, did he-"

"Hi! Don't mind my boyfriend, he's a Seaweed Brain."

"Annabeth, no."

Calypso laughed.

"And you've probably heard about the rest of us from Leo-"

"Hey!" Jason grinned at Calypso. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Jason, introduce yourself!" Piper scolded, swatting her boyfriend playfully on the chest. He emitted an "ow." "Obviously, that is Jason, and I'm Piper. It's wonderful to finally meet you!" Piper extended her hand for a shake, which Calypso gladly obliged.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you too! Leo's told me a lot!"

"Hello! I'm Hazel," Hazel said.

"And I'm Frank!" Frank chimed in.

Calypso's smile seemed to grow even brighter, if possible, as she greeted the two Roman demigods. Piper liked Calypso. She wasn't well-known as a good reader of people, since that was mostly Jason and Hazel. But she could pick up a certain vibe off people (probably an Aphrodite thing, to help you know who would have good friendships or romantic relationships with other types of people), and the vibe coming off Calypso was a cheery and bright sort of a vibe, a good vibe, that made Piper feel delicious from her head to her toes. She liked that vibe. So she liked Calypso.

"Excuse me, mis amigos, but let me get back to my lovely girlfriend." Leo slid between Frank and Hazel, offering a friendly grin to them, and took Calypso's hand after giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Calypso scoffed, but under her many freckles Piper watched Calypso' cheeks gain a red tint. Did Piper blush whenever Jason did that to her? She had noticed that Annabeth and Hazel blushed whenever their respective boyfriends did that, Hazel more than Annabeth.

"Leo!" And suddenly Leo was being tackled by a bunch of other campers. Nyssa hugged him, while the rest of the Hephaestus cabin stood by and chattered aimlessly at him. He laughed and introduced them all to Calypso. More campers came in, although Piper noticed a lack of the Aphrodite kids (not worrisome, she knew where they were), Sol-Will and Nico (also not as worrisome, but she had to stopped hanging around Jason before she called them Solangelo to their faces) and the Stolls (very worrisome).

"He's actually back? Unbelievable," Piper heard Clarisse mutter, but she knew she was also slightly relieved.

"Okay, this is all very heartwarming and all, and I should've written a little speech all Hazel-Grace-Eulogy-for-Augustus-Waters style-" Someone sobbed at the reference. "-but I have a question." Leo broke out of the crowd of kids to stare at the Seven. "Where's Nico?"

Piper was a little surprised that Leo had actually remembered Nico, to be honest. Although she did remember Leo saying Nico was pretty cool at times, he just had to stop popping out of nowhere and scaring people (and also join Team Leo), she wasn't sure how much effort Leo put into thinking about the boy.

"Ah," Piper said, and then smiled weirdly. She had no idea how to explain to Leo what the entire camp was trying to do. "Let's take this to the Big House, shall we?"

*If you listen closely you can hear the theme song from "Bear In the Big Blue House" in this linebreak because the Big House is big and last I checked blue.*

"So, what exactly is going on?" Leo took a bite out of his Ritz cracker, spewing crumbs everywhere. Calypso made a face, and he swallowed as to grin sheepishly at her.

All of the Seven and Calypso (along with Reyna, who had joined the group on their journey into the Ping-Pong room, since she had been in the stables), sat around the aforementioned Ping-Pong table. Piper found it a little ridiculous, since this was technically not a counselor meeting, and this wasn't that big of a deal that an entire conference was needed. But, in a way, she supposed it was. At least it was somewhat organized.

Jason leaned forward. "Okay, not sure how to break this to you, but Nico is sort of, eh-"

"Dead?"

"No, he's alive."

"Half-dead?"

"All alive."

"Disappeared?"

"He's at camp."

"Pregnant?"

Everyone stared.

"Chill out, I'm just kidding! Plus, (no offense to readers who enjoy that sort of thing), that'd be kinda weird."

"What about readers?" Hazel asked.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, so Nico is gay."

Another pause, until Annabeth asked, "How did you know?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "You're obviously dancing around the topic and trying to break it gently to me, and if he's not dead then he must be gay. And besides, not to stereotype, nobody can wear pants that tight and be completely straight. Bisexual or pansexual with a leaning for the opposite gender, maybe, but not 100% straight."

"Oh!" Jason sounded relieved that Leo wasn't all freaked out over Nico's sexuality, even if his reasoning _was_ a bit weird. "So, uh, it doesn't bother you?"

"Nope!" Leo shook his head, dark brown curls flying about. "There was this one older cousin I had-Manolo or something-and my uncle swore up and down that he was gay."

"Was he?" Reyna asked.

"We never really found out, he got bit by a snake and died. Very tragic. Turned out he did like a girl, someone named Maria I think, but he also kinda liked his best friend, Joaquin, who was a guy. Very confusing."

"Sorry."

"It's alright, I only met him once or twice."

Piper turned to Calypso. "Does it bother you, Calypso?"

Calypso shrugged. "No, not really. I've seen the myths happen."

Piper nodded. "Ah."

Leo rubbed his hands together, his cracker now-hopefully-digesting in his digestive system. "So! What's up? Does Nico like someone or something?"

"Yeah, he liked me," Percy answered.

Leo's hands stopped mid-rub. "Wait, what? Geez, what is it with people and falling for Percy?" Then he blushed. "Uh, sorry Callie, and Annabeth."

"Callie?" Hazel asked.

"Me," Calypso answered, cheeks dusted a light pink at Leo's use of her nickname.

"Oh, I see," Hazel nodded.

"Anyways, Nico has been spending some time with Will Solace from Apollo since the war ended, and he's brought him up in conversations," Jason changed the topic.

"Solace? Seriously? Man, that guy is terrifying! He's so forceful in the infirmary, and the moment you get hurt he just drags you there!" Leo shuddered.

"Is it also because you're almost a foot shorter than him?" Percy asked.

Leo frowned. "Don't push it just yet, Jackson. I may have just gotten back to camp, but I _will_ find a way to hurt you."

Jason cut in. "And, obviously, we all love Nico and want to help him. So we've sort of formed a camp-wide club to help get Will and Nico together! And before you asked, Will's gay too, we asked the cabin."

Leo returned his attention to focus on Jason. "Tell me more," he practically purred in evil intentions, letting his chin rest on his hand as he stared expectantly at Jason.

Jason, of course, was seemingly oblivious. "Well, last week, the Apollo cabin sang 'Kiss the Girl' to Will and Nico when they walked past their cabin, although it was an abridged version. Frank helped."

Frank snorted. "I failed."

"You did well!" Hazel patted his arm reassuringly, and Frank's angry scowl softened.

"And before that, I and Jason tried to get Rachel to see into the future to tell if Solangelo got together." Annabeth shuddered. "That was not fun."

"Rachel's scary anyways," Leo pointed out.

"And just now, the Aphrodite cabin has set up a quote-unquote 'romantic dinner' in the pavilion for them, like Lady and the Tramp. My cabin has issues," Piper added.

"Also the Hermes kids hanging around closets, that's important," Percy chimed in.

"Yeah, it is."

Leo tapped a finger on his bottom chin, then stood up and began pacing the room. "Hmm, would a large monster work like that? No, you'd have to reverse the effect and get a special element for that. How about—no, that won't help them get together…"

"He's in," Jason declared.

"To tell the truth, I am quite interested in helping Nico and will get together now, despite having not met them yet," Calypso giggled. "Although I highly doubt any of Leo's inventions will work the way he plans for them to."

Piper laughed along with her. "Yeah, they almost never do."

"I heard that!" Leo hollered, then clapped his hands together. "Bleah, I can't come up with anything straightaway, my mind is still processing it."

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Frank agreed.

Leo shrugged. "Eh, yeah, I guess you'd say so." Then he stopped, and his entire face lit up like a Christmas tree, despite Halloween not being over yet. "Hey, Calypso, wanna see part of the Big House? I'll give you the Grand Leo Valdez tour!" He performed miniature jazz hands.

Calypso laughed. "Oh, Leo, I would love to!" She turned back to face the other demigods. "Do you mind-"

"No, not at all, go keep Leo busy for a bit! He'll also need something to occupy his hands and mouth with anyways!" Jason grinned, then frowned. "That could've come out a whole lot better."

"Wow, Jason," Leo joked, although his face was dusted with a light pink blush. Calypso's was the same. He offered a hand to help Calypso out of her chair, to which she obliged by taking it, and then walked her out of the room, already chattering away about the Ping-Pong room.

Once they were gone, Percy said, "And that is Calypso."

Piper nodded. "She's nice. Good match for Leo."

Jason grinned. "Wow, can't believe we got them to join so fast!"

Reyna frowned. "I do not trust whatever Valdez will come up with. We must not rely entire on his machines."

Hazel opened her mouth to say something, but a cold gust of air blew through the room, and suddenly every shadow in the room seemed to be leaning towards a specific spot just a little past the Ping-Pong table. Leo yelled just outside the room, "You guys feeling that breeze? Close your windows!"

A mass of darkened shadows appeared on that spot every shadow was being drawn to, and it stayed swirling for a moment, before finally separating into two different forms: one tall, lanky male, and another shorter male. As the shadows finally faded away, the people were revealed to be none other than Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. Oddly enough, Will's hand was resting on top of Nico's head, while Nico was holding his wrist. Okay, Piper ha to admit that that was pretty weird. The two boys turned to see everyone staring at them. Will's hand fell off of Nico's head, and Nico let go of Will's wrist. They both stepped away from each other.

"Nico? What's going on?" Hazel asked.

"The Stolls locked me and Will in a closet, so we had to shadow-travel out," Nico explained.

Inwardly, Piper groaned. Well, now they act! And they hadn't evenly properly gotten together yet! That was a disappointment. She would have to have a talk with the Stolls later, as would the rest of her cabin. She just hoped that that dinner hadn't gone to waste. It _had_ taken awhile to make, after all…

"The question is, why are you all in here? And what fan club?" Will looked pointedly at Jason and Annabeth, who gave each other _Uh-oh_ looks. If anyone was going to explain, Piper would let them do it.

Then a moaning noise caused everyone to pause and look at the door.

Leo staggered towards Will and Nico, arms outstretched like he was a zombie. Piper was thoroughly convinced that he had completely and finally lost, her suspicions reinforced when he moaned, "Uhhh, I'm back from the deeeaaad, uhhh, I want braaaaaiiiiiins…"

Will moved quickly behind Nico, a look of terror painted on his face. "As much as I do not like admitting to being scared, Nico, you're better with the dead than I am," he squeaked.

Nico held up a finger. "Leo, you can stop pretending to be dead now."

Leo stopped shuffling mid-gait, then snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Aww, man!" in the best Swiper the Fox impression that Piper had heard in years.

Nico pointed at Leo. "I knew there was something funny about your death, you didn't quite feel dead. How did you survive?"

Leo spread out his hands and waved them. "Magic."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"No, seriously. Magical potion. Can't mass-market it, I'm afraid."

"Leo." And then Calypso was suddenly by Leo's shoulders. Leo jumped and stifled a yelp, face turning bright red. "What-exactly-were you trying to do?"

"Uhm…scaring them together?" he answered, grinning sheepishly.

Will swiveled around to glare at the campers seated around the table, and Piper had to stifle a gulp of fear. Despite being around her age, only a little bit older, Will could be quite terrifying when he glared. Piper blamed it on the fact that Will was about six feet tall-pretty tall for a fifteen-year-old, but at least he could use it to his advantage.

"Seriously. Leo hasn't been here even a full hour, and you've already converted him to your little 'OTP club' gimmick?" He threw his hands up in the air. "No, I'm-I'm done. Officially done with all of you. I'm going back to my cabin. I still need to talk to them about last week's incident…" And he walked out of the room. A few moments later, a door slammed.

The room was quiet, until Leo turned to Nico and said, "So, have you met Calypso yet?"

* * *

**And here we have another round of Find That Reference: Book of Life reference. Go find it!**

**Also, here's a sneak peek of the official Solangelo getting together chapter! I'm gonna upload it sometimes in December because someone suggested they get together during a Christmas party and I am weak for couples at Christmas. And you guys get it now because 80+ favorites, 130+ follows, 69 reviews (heehee), and 4000+ views!**

**I'll have it all nice and done around Christmas, and the engagement (en_gay_gement) and wedding chapters up close to New Year's or so, it all depends, really. I've only written like two engagement scenes, one in a story for my friend's birthday with her characters that didn't feature a proper ring it was a promise ring, and a Doctor Who one you can find in my stories (AND THEN ONE FROM SEVENTH GRADE WITH ME AND MY IMAGINARY BOYFRIEND COUGH COUGH I CAN EXPLAIN I DIDN'T EVEN COME UP WITH HIM MY FRIEND DID). And then I need to write a wedding scene I like weddings.**

**Anyways, without further ado, here it is!**

* * *

Percy poked his head behind the bed sheet Piper had put up around her bed. "Uh, everything okay?"

Jason laid on his back, head on a pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Annabeth sat a foot or two away from him, massaging her temples as she blew out shaky breaths of air.

"Running a shipping club. It does this to you," Piper commented, stepping in front of Percy and moving past him to sit besides Jason. She picked up the blond boy's head and moved it into her lap. He didn't say a word.

"I've noticed."

"We screwed up," Jason finally said, pushing his glasses back. "We done screwed up."

"We got so involved and caught up...Ugh! I should've seen this coming!" Annabeth moaned.

Percy moved to sit besides his girlfriend. "Hey, it's okay, Wise Girl," he soothed. "I wouldn't have seen it coming either, but it's nothing to beat yourself up over."

Annabeth whirled around to face the son of Poseidon. "You don't understand, Percy!" she accused him, gray eyes wild with anger. Percy leaned back. "Because of me, Jason, and the rest of the camp, Nico and Will aren't speaking to each other!"

* * *

**Oops. Looks like we've got some drama going on...**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	6. Chapter 6: Mountains Need Love Too

***ducks pitchforks being thrown at me because of the sneak peek from last chapter***

**I PROMISE THEY WILL START SPEAKING AGAIN LEXI WILL RETURN TO FIX THEIR BROKEN RELATIONSHIP**

**MY REPORT CARD CAME IN AND MY LOWEST GRADE IS AN 80 WOOP WOOP**

**Anyways, have you seen the animated video for the song "Ghost" by the Mystery Skulls? I love it to death (how ironic)! I actually showed it to my class since we were having a Halloween party and the entire time everyone was comparing it to Scooby-Doo and somebody even yelled out "WHERE'S DAPHNE" at the end. It was great!**

**Then I showed them the video for "Alice of Human Sacrifice" by Vocaloid. Long story short, I'm not exactly allowed to suggest songs to play anymore. It wasn't even the original version, it was the one with the English lyrics at the bottom. It wasn't that bad, honestly. I've seen worse.**

**And RavynAshes2 wrote her own version of the first chapter of this fanfiction! It's Chapter 11 of her story, "Just Another Day." Check it out, I absolutely love it!**

**REVIEWS**

**BalletBookworm: LEO IS THE BEST ALWAYS. Caleo is so cute eee. I love all of those too! December will bring many things, my dear... There already will be a campwide Halloween party, but thanks for suggesting anyways!**

**Sabrina-Luna-potter: They'll be speaking again, don't worry! Mostly with their mouths, but still speaking!**

**GhostWriter1864: Technically, it's more of Eros's and Flauvonius's (Idk whatever his name is) faults, they pushed the boys over the edge. It would be, and that actually happens in "Just Another Day!" I died laughing.**

**CheetosPotato: Dude I could write them making out if you want me to. It's both unacceptable and progress. **

**DoomgirlForever: Thanks! I probably won't focus as much on Caleo again as I did here. I'm not really sure how many times Leo will appear again like this. And I still ship Leyna, because I am a multishipping nerd.**

**Spiesareawesome: Leo is always the funniest to write. So are the Stolls.**

**Readeatcook: Thanks! Wait, was "Bear in the Big Blue House" not part of your childhood?! *loud gasp and faints* Haha, who doesn't? At least I'm not leaving you hanging over the pit of Tartarus like Percy and Annabeth.**

**Percy: THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR**

**Me: It's true though.**

**They'll stop picking on him soon enough, it's mostly Will because he's frustrated with the entire business. And if Percy sang our ears would bleed *covers Percy's mouth as he protests*. Yes Jason's girly voice please. I want an entire book series devoted to Jason's girly voice. And you saw my freak-out from the author's note last chapter, so you do have permission to! Yes, everyone is obsessed. *"Everyone Loves 'How Not to Get Your OTP Together" appears in big sparkly letters***

**Nico: Is that a reference, because I don't get it.**

**Me: I don't get your face.**

**Stolls and Leo: Ohhhhhhh!**

**Nico: Well I don't get your mom.**

**Stolls and Leo: OHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

**Moonshroom420: Chapter order response again:**

**It was only a chapter**

**How did it end up like this**

**It was only a chapter**

**It was only a chapter**

**And thanks!**

**FlamingGinger06: The only other problem is the actually canon ships. Same here.**

**MidnightEeve: The joke was impossible to resist. Thanks! Bring Leo Valdez back 2k14! Aw, thanks again! The drama probably won't be happening until further down the line, before Mockingjay comes out at least (I have a short chapter planned for that, actually). I'll try!**

**Vile'sApprentice: Would an "I'm sorry" suffice? Well, here's sorta what I have planned so far. If you guys don't want spoilers for the plot, you don't have to read:**

**The boys are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with all this attention being focused on them, and they feel like they shouldn't be near each other as much if it's just gonna draw some attention. They both like each other, but being the dorky dorks they are they have yet to confess. Anyways, there's a bit of flirting going on to make Nico/Will jealous (Someone requested Drew flirting with Will and Carter Kane flirting with someone and I am a huge Kane Chronicles dork). And it's working, but not in the way it was intended to work. The person being made jealous is sorta angry and mad at the other person. There's also Will being visited by Apollo. Will doesn't tell anyone, even though the encounter left him moody for days, so Nico feels like Will stopped trusting him. Also, at some point Will's gonna find out Nico used to like Percy. But he's gonna mishear it and think that Nico currently has a crush on Percy. So Will's gonna be jealous and also a little mad at Nico. Then the whole Eros thing Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu suggested. That's when it all goes down. Each boy leaves his encounter mad and confused but refuse to talk about it. That's when they have their first major fight. They end up getting so mad that they refuse to speak to each other for a while, and everyone realizes that maybe the club was a bad idea.**

**There are several attempts made to fix their relationship, but it's really Lexi the asexual aromantic who comes to the rescue. She calmly gets the boys together and forces them to talk about what's been bothering them. The air is cleared and she manages to fix their relationship. They end up accompanying each other to the winter party, and then they finally confess. Not sure how they confess just yet, knowing me it might be mistletoe. I and mistletoe have a weird relationship when it comes to romantic things. It gets couples together and I worship it.**

**Then there's the wedding/engaygement chapters (As long as I discuss this story I will always say engaygement because it is too good of a joke to pass up). As of now, my heart is fixated on having them up around New Year's. I've been thinking of Valentine's Day, but if Solangelo gets together around Christmas then that's a bit far off. **

**So, yeah, that's the timeline and plot. So if Solangelo has their argument before Mockingjay comes out and they get together around Christmas, that's an entire month of torture, both for you guys and the campers. I am definitely Andrew Hussie.**

**TheChasm: Thanks! Essays are pretty cool, to me at least. I like writing. And one of them got moved back so ye. Thanks, I'm glad that you loved them! Oh, man, I have like twenty at least. I'll try to update weekly, though when it comes Thanksgiving I'm not sure. My family is coming over for Thanksgiving this year, and all of my cousins are younger than me (on both sides of the family, although on one side I only have one and another one on the way, but the other side I have like six now. And I already have three little brothers. Three of my cousins aren't coming, though, so that's only six little screaming children I'll have to watch).**

**CHBcamper52: Thank you! I'll try to update whenever possible!**

**Random: Hi! That is actually one of the best lines I have ever written. (I am a math nerd despite being bad at math so don't worry haha.) Thanks! Oh, man, you used to read Apollo? I am so sorry. Oh, it is? Well, I'm glad to make you happy! And I'm glad to finally figure out my sexuality, and it's also great to see it in real and fictional life! Also that is my favorite headcanon haha. And it's okay, I didn't realize she was Japanese at first. You didn't sound pissy at all! And thanks for saying that my writing is great!**

**Credit for this chapter goes to the fairylike Angela!**

**Yes I will assign random positive adjectives for people okay**

**Disclaimer: I am smoking hot!**

**Me: *smacks Leo's head on keyboard***

* * *

**C**hapter 6: Mountains Need Love Too

Will slammed the door to the Apollo cabin shut, causing everyone in the cabin to jump and instantly fall silent. They weren't expecting him back so early. He should've been doing the reenactment of the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp, and then making out with Nico (Kayla was sorta miffed that her fantasy confession scene had yet to come true, even though it was pretty weird).

"You guys," Will declared, usually playful blue eyes going steely, "need to stop."

"Stop what? If it's the quivers being left all over the field, that's Ares." Austin told him.

"I know that."

"Stealing the lollipops from the bowl in the infirmary?" Alex asked.

"That was you?" Laura said in disbelief.

"No comment," was the nonbinary's reply, as zhey blushed.

"We'll discuss that later, but not that."

"Drinking all the orange juice at breakfast?" Kayla suggested, her almond eyes trying to follow the curious expression the rest of her face was pulling. She knew fully well what Will was talking about.

"No, Kayla." Will sighed.

"What then?" Laurel asked. The Brazilian second-grader stared up expectantly at Will. His gaze softened for a moment, but then his attention returned to the rest of the cabin, and it became stony once more.

"I've scolded you guys for last week's incident already, but we haven't been able to have the proper talk we needed about it." The blonde boy moved to sit down at the chair that came with his bed, courtesy of being the head counselor.

"It's Frank's fault!" someone else yelled.

"No, it isn't. I'm not talking about the fact that he ruined your little performance, but about the fact that you guys decided to do it at all."

Everyone gulped. They had all known that this was eventually coming, but they were hoping Will wouldn't have been in such a foul mood.

"First off-That is such a ridiculously cliché song. I've seen many cliché things in life, but that took the cake. Honestly, if you had sung 'I See the Light' or 'A Whole New World,' there was no way that it could've gotten any more cliché," Will said.

"We nearly sung those," Austin muttered. Kayla elbowed him.

"Second off-" Will sighed, and then just crossed his arms and stared silently at them. "A fan club. There was a fan club formed for me and Nico. I don't know whether that's a new high or a new low. And, judging from the things I've seen helping around camp for the past few days, I'll have to go with a new low."

Everyone froze. Will knew. Will knew about the fan club. And if Will knew about the fan club, and he was in a bad mood, things did not look so well for almost the entirety of the Apollo cabin.

"We didn't form it!" Someone else defended. "That was all Jason Grace's and Annabeth Chase's doing!"

"I know," Will answered. "But, seriously, guys? Don't you think that that's going a little too far? For starters, what goes on in my personal life should remain private unless if I and I alone specifically tell someone, and even then I would very much enjoy it if they didn't tell anyone else. Also, I don't want details about me being spread all across both camps, thank you very much. Again, the whole privacy thing. And don't you think trying to get so involved in my personal life like this is just a tad bit, I don't know…Creepy?"

"It is," someone else called out.

"Thank you, Person-who-probably-sang-the-song-from-last-week-and-is-attempting-to-redeem-yourself-when-he-asks-about-it."

The person snorted.

"Anyways, I don't want my private life being public information. That's just wrong, you guys. That's just wrong." Will shook his head.

"Any other reasons?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah. Can you guys please stop with the attempts? The Aphrodite cabin prepared a scene a la 'Lady and the Tramp,' which me and Nico did not fall for, and then we got shoved in a closet by the Stolls. So yeah, kinda have a hectic life right now."

"The Stolls did _what_?!" Alex squawked.

"Shoved. Us. In. A. _Closet_. So Nico had to shadow-travel us out-and if he does that again anytime soon, I might actually kill him-and we landed in the Ping-Pong room of all places. And guess who should have returned while we were gone but none other than Leo Valdez!" Will sighed and massaged his temples. "And he joined the club as well."

"I'm scared now," someone whispered, and nervous giggles filled the air.

Will dropped his hands back into his lap and opened his eyes. "So, yeah. Do not try anything else, for the love of Apollo. I am frustrated enough with everyone else as it is. I don't even think I like him like that!"

The entire cabin was silent, until Austin asked, "So, what happened in the closet?"

Will froze. "Umm…"

"Is it appropriate to hear?"

Will yelped. "What-Yes! We did not do anything bad! All that happened was, um…we came out?"

Everyone mentally high-fived in their heads, and some money was passed between a few campers.

"Okay, so, let me get this straight." A few people laughed at her word choice, but Kayla ignored them. "You came out of the closet. In a closet."

"I guess you could say that."

"That is either the greatest or worst closet joke of all times."

"I…guess you could say that."

"You could've made it greater by kissing him~" someone cooed.

"I-_WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?! I AM GOING TO TAKE A QUICK SHOWER BEFORE DINNER, AND IF I DO NOT ARRIVE IN TIME FOR THE CONCH SHELL, KAYLA, YOU ARE TAKING THEM TO DINNER!_"

And with that, Will rose abruptly out of his chair, stomped over to the door, and slammed it shut behind him. The room was silent, until someone said, "Don't you mean, 'let me get this gay,' Kayla?"

The entire cabin exploded in laughter. Kayla just sighed, but started to laugh along with them.

Outside, Will fumed silently as he stomped to the showers. Thankfully, nobody tried to bother him. What was wrong with his cabin?! They should've just left him alone over the whole matter! He didn't even really have a crush on Nico!

And yet…Will did enjoy time with Nico, more than he did with other friends. He felt like Nico understood him better, somehow, and that he understood Nico. Sometimes thoughts about the boy appeared randomly in his head, with no reason to. And he did think Nico was rather cute…

Okay, so maybe he _did_ have a bit of a crush on Nico…

***As William sorts out his feelings, this linebreak brings us to an abrupt POV change.***

"Nico!"

The aforementioned son of Hades stifled a groan as Jason jogged up to his side. Shortly after Will's leaving and his proper introduction to Calypso, Nico had also vacated the Big House, leaving the other demigods behind. He just wanted to lie down in his cabin and question the decisions he made that had led to his friendships, and that had led to this weird little club thing.

"Listen, I, uh, just wanted to say sorry. We would have never let the Stolls lock you in a closet, we specifically said that was a bad idea-"

"Oh, yeah? What about the dinner?"

"That wasn't a closet."

"The serenading?"

"Also not a closet?"

"Jason, just because it isn't a closet doesn't mean it's okay. Can you just…" Nico sighed, massaging his temples. "Can you not?!"

"What?!" the blonde boy cried. "C'mon, Nico, wouldn't it make you happy to be with someone? I just want to make sure you're happy!"

Nico looked back up at Jason. The Roman demigod's electric blue eyes blinked uncertainly as they stared back at Nico. Jason wasn't trying to cause any harm, he realized. He just wanted to make sure that Nico really was happy. He knew that Nico wasn't entirely over Percy, and he was trying to help him get over him. Nico was just about over him, it was just that when you've crushed on someone for so hard and so long, letting go of them would never-and could never-be easy. And that was what Nico was experiencing.

Jason did mean well, but he just had to realize that sometimes he needed to back off a little.

"Look, Jason, I know that you're trying to help me-really, I do-but can you just back off for a while? I'm not really ready to enter a romantic relationship right now, and my feelings for Will are mostly undecided."

"Oh!" Jason looked embarrassed. "Jeez, man, I'm sorry. Just trying to help, y'know? I'll try to hold the club back for a bit."

Nico actually wanted him to stop entirely with the club, but maybe some other time. He actually appreciated that people would try to put in such effort, especially for someone like him.

Then Jason frowned. "What does 'undecided' mean?"

Nico stared. "What."

"You said your feelings were undecided. So what do you mean by that?" Jason smirked a little.

Nico was about ready to skewer him on a sword. "You know what I meant."

"So you _do_ have a bit of a crush on him then?" Jason's grin seemed to stretch even wider, if possible.

"Jason-"

"Aww, Nico has a crush!" He laughed a little.

"_Jason, I'm warning you-"_

"When's the wedding?"

Nico snapped.

Subconsciously, he grabbed Jason by the front of his shirt, and before he knew it they had both slipped into the realm of shadows.

Nico knew he was being crazy. He had shadow-traveled barely ten minutes ago, how could he expect himself to shadow-travel again? But he had done it anyways. There was no stopping it now.

When the shadows had cleared, Nico was surprised to find that he was feeling okay. A bit off, probably from not shadow-traveling in a few months, but okay nonetheless.

He realized that he and Jason were standing on top of a mountain. It was green, with a forest near its base and tall blades of grass as far as he could see. It was more of a hill, really, but sometimes people wanted the smallest things to matter more.

Jason stumbled back, totally shocked. "Whoa-that was-what-"

Nico whirled around to face him. "You are not leaving this mountain until I come to get you. I don't want you treating me like that right now. I'm going back, and when I return I better find you ready to apologize."

"But-"

But in a flash of darkness, the Ghost king was gone, and the sentence died on Jason's lips.

***Is this linebreak really needed? Eh. You tell me.***

The sickness hit the moment Nico landed back in camp.

He had arrived next to a wall of the building that hosted the boy's showers, thankfully, so he was able to rest his shoulder against the wall when the fatigue hit. A wave of nausea passed over him, and he groaned quietly.

This was a terrible idea. He had a terrible idea, which he followed terribly, because the terrible idea had turned into a terrible plan, and now he was feeling just plain terrible, to say the least. Nico really needed some form of common sense, actually. He couldn't just go rushing blindly on every idea that he had had. It was bound to get him killed someday.

"Nico?"

Nico groaned again, but not from the pain. The last person that he wanted to see in his current state was right behind him. He turned around to face Will. "Hey."

Will just stared at him in disbelief. "Did you just-no-did you-_DID YOU SERIOUSLY SHADOW TRAVEL WHEN I TOLD YOU NOT TO?!"_

"Um," was Nico's brilliant, carefully-thought-out, well-written response.

Will made a strangled noise. "You. Me. Infirmary. Now." Avoiding Nico's eye contact, he reached out his hand for Nico's hand. (Come to think of it, Nico had rarely seen Will look any person in the eyes for longer than two seconds. He would have to ask about that.

Nico swung out his arm, and his hand landed into Will's. Will grunted approvingly. "I will actually kill you someday, Nico," Will grumbled.

Nico tried to make a joke based off of that, but he was too exhausted to try. Son the son of Hades just let the son of Apollo drag him over to the infirmary, where he was beginning to spend more and more time. Ugh. Infirmaries. So clean and sterile. He didn't really like them.

He also didn't like the way his heart started pounding when Will had taken his hand, and it hadn't stopped pounding since.

***While Will checks over Nico, use this linebreak to be transported magically to the mountain peak that Jason is currently staying on, either until Nico feels like coming back or the Seven arrive.***

"Well then. That was interesting."

There was no sound, other than the wind and wildlife.

"He can't just leave me here!"

Pause.

"Well, if he wanted to, he could. But I already promised to help keep the club down!"

Nobody answered him.

"…I guess I did step over the line somewhere with my teasing. When he gets back, I'll apologize."

Nothing.

"Okay, he's brooding right now. But he'll come back. I know it!"

The hum of insects filled the air.

"He'll come back!"

Silence.

"…Screw this. Time to start an Iris message."

* * *

**I had the strangest headcanon come into my head that Will had Asperger's Syndrome, and I'm not sure why. Just that him grabbing Nico's hands after delivering a baby satyr, I guess. Along with many other things. I guess I'll just write him with a minor case of it? I don't know, I'm trying to write him based a little off me with the whole Asperger's thing, and I'm not too sure where I fall on the Asperger's spectrum.**

**Also, I had an "I-AM-A-BETTER-WRITER-THAN-RICK-RIORDAN" moment and wrote Nico not entirely over Percy. I love Solangelo, don't get me wrong, but the way Rick Riordan handled it seemed off to me. I feel like he could've gone into more detail with Nico's character. In fact, the entire last POV of Nico felt off to me which helped inspire a new fanfiction that I am currently planning and will not put up for a while. There's going to be meaty slabs of Solangelo in it, don't worry!**

**Ugh, my period started, so life is automatically terrible. If labor pain is really ten times that of period pain, I'll just adopt all my kids. I was already planning to adopt most of them anyways, I just wanted at least one from me biologically.**

**Don't listen to me complain about fictional characters that could've had so much more or the process of losing blood monthly. It's weird.**

**Then again, I am weird, after all.**

**Also, I called my friend on Saturday and he picked up saying that he was at the top of a Ferris wheel and that he'd have to call me back. I texted him yesterday and apparently he was at the top of the Ferris wheel with some girl and he was about to kiss her right when I called. I actually couldn't stop laughing when I found out.**

**Yay, Halloween tomorrow! What will you guys be? I'm going as Pixal from Ninjago, but if something comes up I can just fall back on my TARDIS dress.**

**Stay safe when trick-or-treating, guys!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**

**P.S. I am sexually attracted to how Nico interacted with Jason on the hill/mountain. The grumpy Nico in that scene is one of my favorite Nico personality's lol.**


	7. Chapter 7: Blackjack's OTP?

**If I'm updating twice in one day you know that I am in need of a life**

**And if you guys think this chapter's title is hilarious, wait until you see the one for Chapter 11. And the file name I saved it under is just as bad.**

**Also I can't stop watching "Mystery Skulls-Ghost" I'm in too much love I've watched it like five times already.**

**And I removed the author's note that is chapter 6! I realized that if I was doing the little chapter summary thing in the summary then it would look weird if I was describing chapter 6 when the story had seven chapters. Sorry for any confusion!**

**Also, I just wanted to say thanks for the support for the Will and Asperger's headcanon! I have Asperger's myself, and I would really like to see more representation of it in the media. So far the only representation I know of is in some film from Australia or something, and even then it's kinda old and obscure so yeah.**

**REVIEWS**

**DarthGranola: He's Nico. Why wouldn't he?**

**Maya-chan2007: I feel the love. Oh, yes, I would love suggestions on that! Haha, Zia-sexual. Everyone is a tiny bit Zia-sexual. Oh, man, Sadie would definitely agree. She'd do anything to get her brother to be cooler. They'd probably kidnap him in the night lol. Yes Carter being friends with Walt/Anubis is very important let us never forget that. And then Will would be like "who is this hot guy talking to Nico who is mY NICO." Carter would be terrified. I'll definitely add in your suggestions as best as I can! And thanks about my Will headcanon!**

**TheChasm: Thanks! Angela suggested Nico leave Jason on a mountain and it was impossible to resist. Yeah, I've been doing that to avoid repetitive names. It's a problem, sorry! I'll try to avoid that more in the future. I'm glad to make you laugh out loud!**

**Vaneria Potter: It's great to meet another Aspie! I'll try to bounce a few ideas off of you! Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I'm not sure how extreme my Asperger's is. I have a lot of the signs though, so I'd have to say sorta extreme. I'll actually play more on the whole Asperger's Will thing in the bottom author note. And I'm glad that you love it!**

**Sabrina-Luna-potter: Oh, that sounds really pretty! What does it look like!**

**CheetosPotato: My friend is going as Amy this year, and I have another friend who's gonna be Eleven! Yeah, I sorta understood what you meant. Oh, really? It's really not too awkward, there's more awkward things we could discuss. I love it went characters sputter indignantly. It's hilarious.**

**Spiesareawesome: COME TO ME MY FELLOW NINJAGO FAN. She sounds really awesome!**

**Angela: I'm glad to have exceeded your expectations! You're welcome! Sounds sweet! I would be a PJO character, but I don't look enough like anyone to. The only brunettes that I know of in the series are all non-white.**

**Credit for this chapter goes to the awesome sauce Kifo Entiegon!**

**Disclaimer: I have homework. Rick Riordan doesn't.**

* * *

**C**hapter 7: Blackjack's OTP?

Percy was very quick to blame Annabeth for this.

He was always blaming Annabeth. _My cabin isn't clean because of Annabeth! I hit a tree instead of the target during archery because of Annabeth! I got distracted because of Annabeth! I didn't finish my homework because of Annabeth! The kitchen blew up because of Anna-_

Wait, both Annabeth and Percy had blamed the kitchen blowing up on the Stolls. The only reason they didn't get KP was because there was no kitchen to have KP in.

Anyways, Percy was very fond of blaming things on his girlfriend. He'd call it a form of endearment, but it was just Percy being Percy. Although Annabeth did find it rather sweet that Percy would try to use her to solve all of his problems. Not that she'd ever tell him, of course, otherwise he would never owe up to anything.

However, this time was different. Percy was in the perfect position to blame Annabeth for this. He could pull out all the cards that he used when trying to blame Annabeth for something that he had done. He could use the "she's my girlfriend" card, the "I love her too much" card, the "I spend too much time with her" card, even the "she told me to" card that never worked so he rarely ever used it.

But Percy knew that would never work. Even though any card that he played would actually work for once in his life, and he would probably never get this chance ever again to play all of those cards like this and have them all work out, everyone knew this was his doing. Nobody had told him to, nobody convinced him, nobody even told him, "Hey, you should try this out" and told him about a thing. No, this was all Percy. He had done this of his own free will (Solace). No best Roman-turned-Greek friend lamenting over his OTP convinced him to do it. No girlfriend of said best friend using her charmspeak to convince Percy to do it to stop the Roman-turned-Greek best friend from whining. No girlfriend telling him to try it out. No wild summons from the dying Lord of the Wild via espresso lattes in New Mexico along with a crazy boar had convinced him to do it.

Percy had joined the Solangelo club of his own free will.

Because he was dating the co-president and founding father-Founding mother? Was that even a thing? Percy would have to look it up later-Percy was in the perfect position to play every single card that he used when trying to blame Annabeth for something. But he didn't attempt to. Mostly because Annabeth would brutally slaughter him, but also because he had a genuine interest in the Solangelo club, and not because so many of his friends had an interest in it, thus roping Percy in.

To tell the truth, Percy had always felt bad for Nico. He was not only the son of one of the most dreaded gods in all of Greek mythology, he wasn't even from this time period! How would Percy feel if he were suddenly yanked out of the age of the iPhone 6 and the Ebola crisis in Dallas to the age of the Samsung Phone 3000 and the world plagued by a disease brought to Earth by the inhabitants of the moon known as the Lunars? He'd be scared and confused, that was for sure. And then Percy had promised to bring Bianca back, alive, and he failed. He had utterly and completely failed. He still felt terrible whenever he even heard the name, be it the Bianca that he knew or an entirely different Bianca. Moving past Bianca, Nico was also gay. And he had a crush on Percy.

Percy didn't know much about sexual orientations at the time (He knew now, thanks to the walking encyclopedia that was his girlfriend), but he had known enough to know that Nico grew up in a time where his orientation was practically unheard of. In fact, admitting his feelings could've even killed him. And Percy knew it was hard to grow up different than other people, being an ADHD dyslexic.

So, mostly out of pity, and partially because Annabeth would love him even more if he did, Percy joined the Solangelo club. He wasn't expecting himself to get so swept up into it, actually. Who knew shipping was so infectious? Aphrodite kids, probably. They were experts. And people on the Internet. The Internet people were experts on ships that never got together, actually (especially if they were dead).

Anyways, the club was what had let to Percy doing this. He knew it was wrong to call in a favor like this, especially from them. But, hey, if it got his POT together, it was worth it.

Gods, this was actually pretty embarrassing. He hoped nobody ever saw him do this.

"Please, guys?"

Silence.

"C'mon! Just this once!"

A snort.

"Would you do it for a, uh…Scooby Snack?"

_Boss, I prefer donuts to Scooby Snacks. You know that!_

"You can't _have_ donuts, Blackjack! And don't call me boss!"

He was trying to convince the pegasi to help out the Solangelo club.

For what purpose, he didn't know. He just thought, _Hey!_ _Maybe they would be able to help! Pegasi like shipping, right?_

The only obstacle was that the winged horses felt skittish around Nico. Most animals did. He was the son of Hades, after all. Percy felt nervous around Nico, too, and he didn't have the level of sensitivity that animals were blessed/cursed with. Y'know, the one that helped them to sense earthquakes or whatever. Could Percy sense earthquakes? His father _was_ called the Earth Shaker for a reason, after all. Percy had never thought to try sensing earthquakes. Then again, he lived in New York, which wasn't particularly famous for any earthquakes. But California was, though. Maybe that would come in handy if he could.

An indignant snorting jolted Percy out of his earthquake-related thoughts.

Boss, we're just fine helping out with the sunny kid, but you know how we feel about the di Angelo kid! He's nice 'n' all, but…

Percy sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I understand. He smells funny, he seems funny, he feels funny, all that jazz. But it would be nice to just help out, y'know?"

"Help out with what?"

"GODS OF-" Percy jumped about ten thousand feet in the air. He then turned to face the very person he was talking about. "Nico! You startled me!"

Nico looked disgruntled. Percy supposed that he must have been. He had just spent three days again in the infirmary, after his little jump to the mountain with Jason. As far as he knew, Jason still wasn't talking about it. After all, they had to call in some of Camp Jupiter's eagles to take him back to Camp Half-Blood, which had caused almost a big a fuss as Leo's return had. "Hey," Nico said.

Percy smiled. "I was just, um, trying to see if the pegasi would help with the chariot races!" Every pegasi turned to give him an offended look. He winced. He knew that the pegasi would never willingly perform in a chariot race, and even if forced to they still wouldn't. But hey, he had to come up with something!

"I see."

Percy smiled even harder. Oh gods this was so awkward he couldn't let Nico know what he was trying to do because Nico would kill him.

"Well, Annabeth was looking for you, just so you know. Do I tell her that you're in here…?"

"Oh! Yeah, Nico, that would help a lot! Thanks!"

Nico scoffed a little, but then exited the stables as silently as he had come in.

Percy waited until he was positive that Nico was out of earshot, then turned swiftly black to the pegasi. "See, guys? Nico can be nice! You shouldn't be judging people by their appearances! Didn't your horse mothers or whatever tell you that?"

_I didn't know my mother, _a Pegasus said.

"Oh." Percy felt bad. "Sorry."

_It's okay._

"So, uh, will you guys consider it?"

A long pause.

"Right, right. Just think about it maybe?"

_Maybe._

Percy grinned. "Alright! Thanks!"

_What would we even help with?_

Percy stopped. Hmm, that's right. What _could _the winged horses help with? Shipping them? Cheering them on? Locking them in a stable? Could the pegasi even lock their own stables?

"Percy!"

Annabeth jogged up to stand behind her boyfriend. "What's up?" he greeted.

Annabeth laughed. "Not much. What're you doing?"

"Annabeth, I may have recruited some more people to our cause. Or, in this case, pegasi."

* * *

**What could the pegasi help out with romantically? I'm thinking the stable thing. I might actually write that. No, I will write that.**

**Anyways, like I said above, I'm gonna babble about Will having Asperger's Syndrome because there is a lack of characters with Asperger's Syndrome and that disturbs me. Be warned, I need to put more thought into it, so if anyone has any ideas I'll be willing to hear them!**

**Okay, so some people with Asperger's Syndrome tend to have bad motor skills. Since Will is bad with archery, this would fit in perfectly. Although some of you may argue that if he works in the clinic, that's sorta a bad thing. But it's not like he'll be dropping things everywhere.**

**Also, people with Asperger's tend to come off as impolite. Will is extremely straightforward from what I can tell, and from the looks of it looks like he doesn't give his actions much thought. I'm not sure about other Aspies, but I tend to do that a lot, and I've been told off by my parents many times for that.**

**Also, Aspies seem to have one area of focus that they discuss a lot. I don't see this happening in the books much, but Will comes back to the idea of being a healer many times, so medicine could be a focus area for him.**

**If people want me to write Will as having Asperger's, I'll try to incorporate what I've talked about above, and a few other things that are common in people with Asperger's syndrome, such as lack of eye contact, staring at people (Will sorta does this, I think? Idk), taking language very literally, and repetitive behaviors (hand-wringing or finger-twisting).**

**Ironically, I'm going off with symptoms that I found on WebMD, even though I myself am a valid source for symptoms. Well, I suppose it isn't that ironic. I mean, I didn't know what I did that constitutes as a symptom of Asperger's or not.**

**Also, people with Asperger's tend to have ADHD as well, and Will has ADHD and dyslexia, so that helps with the headcanon as well.**

**I don't know. Do you guys think I should?**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	8. Chapter 8: Trick or Treat, Nico's Mad

**"It's still Halloween somewhere," I tell myself as I update on November 4****th****. Sorry for the late chapter, guys, I had a crazy weekend! I spent two hours trick-or-treating and got a good haul out of it, and then I watched the Addams Family movie. Speaking of which, Morticia and What's-His-Face need to get a room. And then homework bluh bluh. At least some of my assignments had to get pushed back for scholarly reasons. Plus I had a really tough Monday and just couldn't bring myself to do anything. And on Word it switches from Spanish to English randomly for some strange reason, so I keep on having to switch the language back to English.**

**Also, I started Supernatural on Friday, and that show wins the record for fastest on-screen death. I mean, it was only the first episode of the first season out of nine seasons, and the mom burns within five minutes. Talk about a death rate. Which is hilarious coming from me, since I read Homestuck and watch Attack on Titan, both of which are famous for their deaths. And Doctor Who.**

**Speaking of which, Doctor Who season finale! I feel like they could've done more with Clara, but I'm absolutely thrilled to see the Master again! And he's a she now, so that also makes me happy! Yay female villains •w• (I actually have an idea for a fic with one lol)**

**REVIEWS**

**Toolazytologin: Thanks! And Cinder is amazing! Have you read Cress yet?**

**Moonshroom420: He sorta deserved that? We all know that he did. And it does sound like he does! I'm also very attracted to that as well.**

**BalletBookworm: Thanks! The hill thing was the best thing to write lol. Well, you can look it up. I'll give you the skinny: Basically, Asperger's is a pretty mild form of autism. It was named after the dude who discovered it, Hans Asperger. It's not a very well-known disease, as far as I'm aware. Oh, cool, the Cheshire cat! I'm more of an Oz girl, due to Wicked, but Wonderland is awesome too!**

**Kifo Entiegon: Because FF hecks things up at times, also because I had an author note as Chapter 6 originally and then I deleted it. I don't know, I just chose someplace random. I was going to do Russia but then I realized that that might kill Jason so yeah. And I know that I said this in my PM, but it's great to meet another Aspie! My therapist said that people with AS usually have ADHD so that's where I got that from. She also said Aspies tend to have anxiety or depression disorders (though I probably won't write Will with depression because depression sucks and I love Will too much also maybe anxiety but idk). I'm sorry that you had to go so long without knowing, I found out in fifth grade after spending almost all of preschool and elementary school wondering what was wrong with me. I tend to avoid eye contact with everyone that I see, which is why I'm terrible at staring contests, and I'm a bit of a distancer too. I'm also really obsessed with those, and I have to have everything in a specific place as well. I even sit at only one seat at the table and get upset when someone else sits there. I don't like loud noises either, so I tend not to go to concerts and other things like that. Boy, I wish my parents would let me calm down like that, because whenever I try to go to my room to finally be alone after school or whatever, they always force me back out. I get nervous about meeting new people too, but oddly enough I sorta thrive in social situations. I just like to be surrounded by people and listen to conversations which is weird but yeah. I already knew that Asperger's is a form of autism, but thanks for the suggestion about looking up autism as well! I definitely will! And it did help, thanks!**

**Still Random: I'm still writing! I'm glad that you like my idea! The only other autism representation that I know of is a girl in the Michael Vey series according to my friend, and even then she's an autistic savant. Good news for my friend, though, since he's also an autistic savant (and he has Asperger's too). Also people say that a character in Homestuck is autistic, though I have yet to see conformation (and they probably say so because another character called her "autistic" as an insult, which is glossed over a lot and really disturbs me). Oh, thanks for that quick note. I had to look up the symptoms for Asperger's and that was listed as one of them, so I was kinda like "well I have terrible handwriting and can barely draw so yeah." HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT THAT OH MY GOD THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT FRIEND. HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR MY HEADCANON. YES THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT BACK UP. And I do hope to inspire more diversity! Aha yes that line is beautiful. And also a reference to the Lunar Chronicles aha.**

**MegglesGG: RUN FROM THIS STORY WHILE YOU STILL CAN-Lol no, I'm happy to have a new reader! And I'm glad that you find this adorable!**

**Rainbowchameleon: Thanks! Jason would definitely sing that lol.**

**Jason: COUNT ON ME-**

**Nico: I will shadow-travel your ass back to that fucking mountain**

**Jason: ...I'm gonna go find Piper. PIPER, NICO'S THREATENING MEEEE!**

**Piper: Jason you should kNOW BETTER BY NOW**

**Readeatcook: Thanks! And you can look it up, also the short description I put in my response to BalletBookworm's review might help a bit. Wait, people have written characters with Asperger's?! Where?! What books?! And it is! Yes Jason is so nice and slightly naïve sometimes (Nico had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, Nico had a little lamb, and it died). LINE BREAKS OOH-WA-HA! (Engaygement...) Ahh, I hope they do! And good luck with your tests!**

**Queen Ore-Sama: Well, people have been saying that I should, so I will. I'm not trying to go for them "healing" each other, just kinda Will trying to help Nico? I'm gonna write it as Will being perfectly okay with his condition, he just doesn't tell a lot of people about it. I mean, I'm fine with my Asperger's (most of the time) but I don't tell everyone I know "hey I have Asperger's." (It's more like Will forgets to tell people haha)**

**Also, SecretPrussianCitizen, I tweaked your request for Nico's costume just a bit because I came up with a reference to a show that I just started watching. Don't worry, he's still an angel, just not the angel that you expected.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan does not dress up as butt-kicking female robots for Halloween. However, I do.**

**Warning: This chapter is the closest you guys will ever get to clothes actually being off, just so you know.**

**C**hapter 8: Trick or Treat, Nico's Mad

Somebody was going to die.

Nico stared blankly at the clothes laid out on his bed. Somewhere along the line, he had made a terrible mistake. Maybe even several.

One of them, obviously, was listening to his friends. At their urging, Nico had signed up for some Halloween costume thing, where they gave you a costume randomly. This should've set off warning bells in his head, but, of course, it didn't.

So, now here he was, dripping wet and in nothing but a towel, staring at the costume laid out on his bed.

While he was using the shower (mercifully inside his cabin-whoever had designed it had actually done something right), someone had come in and taken all of his clothes, leaving only a few pairs of boxers and one pair of pajama pants. No note, no letter for ransom money in return for his clothes, nada. Just the boxers, the pants, and the costume.

The Halloween party for both camps was tonight, which is why Nico even bothered to get a costume in the first place. In order to get into the party, you had to have a costume. That really frustrated Nico, since all he wanted was to grab some candy and just take it some place quiet to eat it. Also maybe scare a few campers. And hang out with friends.

Wow. He still wasn't used to the thought of having friends.

So Nico had bought the costume, even though he didn't really plan on wearing it. He had actually been considering just buying a long blue jacket and saying that he was Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. But noooo, Jason and Annabeth and Percy and Piper and Leo and Calypso and Hazel and Frank and even Reyna had insisted. He knew that Will was also doing it, which was essentially the entire reason he was even doing it.

Honestly, he had been expecting a gag costume. He was pretty sure that this service was giving everyone weird costumes, courtesy of the Stolls, Chris Rodriguez, and every other Hermes kid. It did seem like something they would do, after all. Maybe they even stole his clothing, just to make sure that he wore the costume! His guess probably wasn't that far off.

But even though he had expected a gag costume, Nico hadn't prepared himself for this level of gaggery. A devil costume? Yes. A ghost costume? Absolutely. Mummy? Vampire? Yes and yes. An angel costume? Well, who wouldn't suggest one for Nico?

It was just that, out of every angel costume that there was, why Castiel from Supernatural?

***I apologize for the reference and bring you this linebreak and POV change.***

"No."

"C'mon, Will, it's a joke!"

"Still no."

"Please?"

"My costume is fixed."

"Willlllllll…"

"Nooooooooo…"

"Just this once?"

"I already have my skeleton costume on from the delivery service, I just need to put on the mask."

"But-"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I WILL NOT BE WEARING A SKIRT!" Will shouted.

Kayla pouted. "But it's Halloween! It's a time of dressing up in awesome costumes!"

Will looked skeptically at the outfit hanging from the hanger in Kayla's hand. "You call _that_ an awesome costume?!" he asked.

The outfit in question was a white nurse uniform with red markings. The skirt ended mid-thigh, and the top was cut low, meant to expose the breast of the girl who was wearing it. And the last time Will had checked, he was not a girl.

**(A/N: Basically your generic nurse costume for teenage girls and women because I am terrible at describing clothes sorry.)**

"Kayla."

"Hm?"

"I'm a guy."

"I know."

"…That's for girls."

"I know."

"I'm not a girl."

"I know."

"Are you going to say 'I know' to everything?"

"I know."

"I know that you made out with a girl from Hephaestus last week behind the sheds."

"I kno-WAIT_, WHAT?!_"

Will laughed. "Oh, man, your face! Hahah! I was joking, but you looked so scared-" He stop mid-laugh to stare at his half-sister. "Wait, did you?"

Kayla was bright red. "Just take the costume!" she squeaked, throwing it at him.

Will caught it, surprised. "Wha-Kayla, you know it's okay, I'm not straight either-"

But Kayla had already run out of the cabin, probably to the archery range or the infirmary. Maybe even the bathroom. Boy, she could hide when she was flustered.

Will sighed. "Okay, can someone please go get Kayla?"

"I'll do it! C'mon, Alice," Austin volunteered, grabbing the arm of the Polynesian girl beside him.

"Hey-_AUSTIN, LET ME GO OR I SWEAR-"_

"Brighten up, half-sis!"

"_I WILL NOT-"_

The door slammed shut behind them, cutting off the argument that was about to transpire.

There was silence in the cabin, until Will broke it by announcing, "Alright! We go down to the pavilion in fifteen minutes! Hopefully, Alice, Austin, and Kayla will be back by then! Remember: Don't pig out on candy, try to keep your costume all nice and neat, and no throwing toilet paper all over the other cabins! Are we clear?"

A chorus of "Yes, Head Counselor William," followed, along with one "Aw, man!" from the back of the room, the owner of the voice presumably upset over not being able to toilet paper cabins. Will made a mental note to keep an eye on that person.

"Right! So finish putting on costumes, putting on face paint or body paint, styling wigs, or whatever needs to be done! Ask for help in the cabin if you need it, because the Aphrodite cabin is probably flooded with people needing help!"

"Okay!" was the response, and everyone turned back to their previous occupation of time: Halloween costumes.

Will smiled to himself. Ah, Halloween at camp was always fun, no matter what age you were! He carefully slid on the mask and turned to look at himself in the mirror near the door. Perfect. A spooky skeleton for a spooky holiday.

"Thinking of someone?"

Will jumped at the sudden appearance of a storm trooper behind him, but then the person reached their arms up to take of their helmet and revealed themselves to be Alex. Will relaxed. "Oh, it's just you," he breathed.

Alex chuckled. "Well, who else would I be? Jolly old saint Nicholas?"

"That's December, Alex."

"Christ, I know."

"Santa doesn't give presents to the little children that take the lord's name in vain," Will teased, wagging a finger in a jokingly adult manner.

"Don't humor me, Will. So, are you?"

Will glanced back to the mirror to see Alex's large hazel eyes blinking at him. It was always easier for him to look at someone's eyes in the mirror than for real, no matter how weird others found it. "Uh, no one in particular. Just mostly thinking about Halloween."

Alex smirked. "Di Angelo?"

"Gods of…" Will sighed and facepalmed, which was rather weird when he was wearing a mask. "Can't you guys just let it go already? You're almost as bad as the Aphrodite cabin!"

"Ha! So you were!" Alex laughed.

"No, I was not."

Alex stuck out zher tongue. "Don't lie to me."

"Our dad is the god of truth, I can't exactly lie," Will pointed out.

Alex slumped, defeated. "Damn it, I thought I had you there."

"Take it easy on yourself. Although you guys really need to forget the whole thing, gods."

"Hey, we just want to see our head counselor get to fourth base!"

"And that entire sentence alone proves why you guys need to stop having an interest."

Alex rolled zher eyes, but didn't say anything. Zhe stood there for a minute or two, shuffling their feet and staring at Will, so he had to look away from the mirror. Gods, looking in people's eyes was unbearably awkward. How did normal people stand it? He barely could, even when he wasn't directly looking at the eyes themselves.

"Okay, spit it out, Alex. What do you want?" Will sighed.

"Well, um, Austin, Kayla, Alice, Aubrey, Lucas, Samuel, and I were talking…"

Will groaned. He just couldn't get a break, could he? "What."

"We thought you should tell di Angelo about your, um…condition…" Alex half-muttered the last part.

Oh. Will had nearly forgotten about the condition Alex was speaking about.

Unlike most demigods, Will wasn't born with dyslexia. He still had ADHD, sure, but not dyslexia. Now, this wasn't very uncommon, since other demigods lacked dyslexia as well. Piper and Jason were two of them, he knew, and so was Leo. He also knew that Frank from Camp Jupiter was lactose intolerant (Even though he was still slightly miffed over the singing fiasco, Will still liked the guy). And like Frank, the dyslexia had been replaced with another condition, in Will's case.

Asperger's Syndrome.

Not a lot of people knew that it existed, which came as no surprise. After all, when people talked about autism, it was mostly talked about as though there was just one form of it, and not different forms of it.

Honestly, Will didn't care much about it. It didn't bother him, and the entire cabin pretty much knew about it. He wasn't the first Apollo kid to be born without dyslexia and have another condition instead, either. Samuel was a diabetic, Aubrey was deaf, and Meredith was born paralyzed. There were also a few others around camp, although it was mostly common in Apollo children to be born with other conditions. So Will paid no mind to it, he just watched himself.

However, not many people outside his cabin knew. Cecil and Lou Ellen both did, along with Jake Mason from Hephaestus and Lexi Ariellano from Aphrodite (He also suspected that a few kids from Athena had guessed, but none of them had outright said anything about it, so he wasn't sure). It wasn't that Will didn't want other people knowing, it was just that it didn't come up in conversation much. Also explaining it was tiring, because he tended to use a lot of medical terms to describe it and it really confused everyone, but when he tried to use "scaled-down" terms, it just confused _him_. So he didn't really bother with telling anyone.

Will sighed. "I don't know. Maybe. You know I don't usually tell people about it."

Alex kicked the floor randomly. "Yeah. I know. We just thought you should."

"Look, Alex, if I want to tell him, I will. It's not really an issue right now, anyways. And explaining it is tiring."

"I know, I know, but-"

"Later, Alex. Besides, we've gotta go!" Will turned back around to face the cabin. "Apollo cabin!"

Everyone stopped, then quickly turned towards Will. "Yes?" Will noted that Austin and Alice had returned with Kayla, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Kayla had slipped into her Wendy costume, face still tinted red, while Alice just sighed in annoyance and pulled on the hem of her Alice in Wonderland skirt (The irony was not lost on Will). Austin chuckled, adjusting the heavy ghost-sucking vacuum on his back from Ghostbusters. A bunk or two away, Samuel chatted excitedly while hurriedly pulling on the boot from his Captain Jack outfit. Aubrey adjusted her hearing aid and straightened her cat tail out, and Lucas sighed in annoyance, wrapping his Slytherin cloak tighter around him. Will made a mental note to talk to all of them about trying to make decisions for him.

"Are we ready to go to the pavilion?" he called out again.

"YES!" Everyone cheered, with a "Hold on!" from Meredith as she straightened her horns that were essential to her female Tavros costume.

Will waited a moment for Meredith, then announced, "All right! Here we go!" The cabin cheered, the smallest children the loudest, and when Will opened the cabin door, they all but tumbled out of it.

***Yes I am a shameless nerd who is giving the characters costumes from my fandoms. Have another linebreak and another POV change as an apology***

"Nico, is everything alright?" Hazel rapped her knuckles on the door of the Hades cabin. Even though it was pretty much alright for her to go in, she didn't want to intrude on her brother's privacy.

Nothing.

"Nico? We're all out here!" Jason called.

Still nothing.

"Can't we just go without him? This suit is heavy," Leo complained.

"No way! We already said we would all go together! And it's _your _fault that it's heavy," Percy pointed out.

Leo sighed. "I guess you're right."

The Seven, along with Calypso (Reyna had to go back to Camp Jupiter), were all gathered outside of the Hades cabin. The demigods had already agreed to meet up there before heading off to the Halloween party.

All in all, Hazel had to say that their costumes were great. She had convinced Frank to go with her as Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from "The Princess and the Frog." It didn't take much convincing, since he loved the movie as well. Piper was adjusting the quiver on her back that was a part of her Katniss costume, and Jason looked like quite the Peeta. Leo had whipped up an Iron Man costume out of nowhere, and Calypso had found what she needed to be Tony Stark's girlfriend, Pepper, even though she had yet to see the movies. Percy had managed to ruffle his hair up into some sort of male updo as the Tenth Doctor, while Annabeth was his blonde companion, Rose Tyler.

All it all, their costumes were amazingly accurate, and she couldn't wait to see what Nico would be. The costumes had only been delivered that day, and she knew that the Aphrodite cabin had been basically put in charge of it, along with a few others.

Hazel knocked again. "Nico?"

"Do you have my clothes?" a muffled voice answered.

Hazel stammered, cheeks turning red. "Uh-I-No, wh-why would I?"

"Somebody took all my clothes."

Percy, Jason, and Leo burst out laughing, and Annabeth and Piper visibly shook as they tried to suppress their laughter. Frank spluttered, while Hazel had to suppress a giggle or two herself. Even Calypso laughed a little.

"It's not funny!" Nico defended himself. "All I have left is my costume, some boxers, and a pair of pajama pants!"

That only made everyone laugh harder.

Finally, Hazel gasped, "Why?"

"Someone took them all while I was in the shower. Probably to make sure that I actually wear the costume."

"Well, do you have it on?"

A pause. "No."

"O-Oh," Hazel stammered, trying to ignore the snickers that Jason, Leo, and Percy emitted. She was almost positive that they had something to do with it. Honestly, the New Rome branch of the Solangelo club was so much more mature!

"Will you _SHUT UP?!_" Piper complained, and all three boys muttered a "sorry."

Hazel cleared her throat. "Maybe you should put on the costume?" she suggested. "I mean, if your clothes _were _taken so you would have to wear the costume, maybe you should just wear it then…"

A disgruntled sound from the other door told Hazel that Nico clearly wasn't interested in her offer.

"Hey!"

Everyone turned to see Alex Smith of the Apollo cabin jog up, helmet off and short ponytail swishing. "I heard trouble. Everything alright?"

"Someone took all of Nico's clothes," Frank explained.

"Oh, sure, tell it to the world!" Nico snapped, the threatening tone of his voice barely dampened by the door.

"Oh, wow, seriously?" Alex laughed. "Man, I'd hate to be you, di Angelo. You still got a costume, though, right?"

"I'm not going to the party until I get my clothes back."

"But-Nico! You said you would come with us!" Jason complained.

"That was _before_ my clothes got stolen, Jason."

"Please, Nico?" Calypso pleaded. "It won't be as much fun without you!"

"Yeah! Plus, the costume can't be _that _bad!" Frank pointed out.

Nico didn't respond.

Alex watched them all bargain with Nico for a minute or two, then suddenly snapped zher fingers. "Hang on, guys, I think I've got an idea." Zhe turned around and jogged towards the pavilion, while the others watched in confusement. What solution could Alex have possibly come up with?

It wasn't until Alex returned with an all-too-familiar person that Hazel realized what Alex was trying to do.

"Uh, hi, guys. Alex said that there was a problem…?" Will Solace asked tentatively.

Annabeth jumped in. "Yeah. Apparently, somebody took all of Nico's clothes as to ensure that he wore his Halloween costume."

"Oh. What do you need me for?"

"He won't come out until he gets his clothes back, apparently."

Will sighed. "So you need me to get him out of his cabin."

"Yes."

Will just sighed again. "You guys need to quit while you're ahead."

Hazel winced. Ah. She had forgotten that Will had found out about the Solangelo club, along with Nico. She would need to file that away for future reference.

Frank peered down at her, concerned. "You okay?"

Hazel beamed right back up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She took his hand to further reassure him. Frank grinned right back.

"Excuse me." Will walked up to the cabin door, squeezing past Frank and Hazel, and knocked on it Anna-from-Frozen style. "Nico?"

"If you sing even an altered version of 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman' I will actually kill you."

"Geez, chill out. Anyways, can you just put on your costume?"

"Clothes first."

"Nico. We-that is, your friends-want you to come join us for the party. To do that, you have to put on the costume. So put on the costume."

"But-"

"Costume."

"What about my clothes?"

"_I said costume."_

Hazel cringed again. Will could be really harsh if he wanted to be, although Hazel felt like he shouldn't be talking to him that way. Give the guy some slack!

"…Fine."

A shuffling sound came from behind the door, and Will turned to flash everyone a quick thumbs-up. "Got it," he said, stepping away from the door so that when it opened, it wouldn't smash him against the wall and turn him into a Will pancake with Hades cabin door on the top. That would be unfortunate. Especially for the Solangelo club.

A few minutes later, full of shuffling and half-muttered curse words later, the door finally swung slowly open, and Nico stepped out in all of his Halloween-costume glory.

He wore a pale tan trench coat, almost all the way down to his ankles, and a modest brown suit underneath. It was adorned with a blue tie and a sensible pair of dress shoes. Nico himself stared at the ground, obviously in a huffy mood.

The air was silent for a few moments, until Percy burst out, "Are you Castiel?"

"No, I'm the Easter Bunny," Nico retorted.

"No, it's cool! See, we can be trench coat buddies!" Percy pointed out, showing off his with a flourish. Annabeth facepalmed.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Nico declined, and then grabbed the doorknob so he could swing the door back.

Will slammed his hand on the door. "Dude. We got you to put on the costume. So now we go to the costume party. Okay?"

Nico glared up defiantly at Will. The two boys stayed locked in their gazes for a few seconds until Will closed his eyes and sighed. "Jesus, Death Head. You've got the costume on, so you might as well make good use of it."

Nico scowled. "I hate it when you're right." He started to trudge down the porch steps.

Hazel grabbed Nico's arm. "Thank you, Will!" she exclaimed. "C'mon, Nico, let's go to the party!"

Nico rolled his eyes, but his steps lightened after that, and soon the rest of the group had joined them, chattering excitedly about the party and what they were gonna do and what kind of candy they would eat and what they would carve into their pumpkins.

Will and Alex had trailed behind, and when Hazel looked back she saw them having what looked like a furious whisper-argument. But she didn't pay much attention to it. After all, it was Halloween. Time to have some fun!

***The last linebreak and POV change and I would like to say that I'm truly sorry***

"Uh, Will?"

"Hm?" Will looked up to see who had called his name.

So far, the party had been a success. Many of the candy bowls were almost empty, and Will was positive more candy was stashed away somewhere in the Big House. Bobbing-for-apples had also been pretty successful, save for some costumes getting wet. Of course, Percy had been able to help dry them out, although he looked pretty miffed to have to.

There had been dancing when the party had initially started, and more was sure to play later. The DJ was an older son of Apollo who had dubbed himself DJ Energizer, and, damn, he could mix those tunes! Right now he was playing Halloween songs softly in the background, and everywhere you looked someone was bound to be singing along to whatever one was playing.

The person who had called Will's name was Nico, and Will ignored the beating of his heart. "Yeah?" he said.

Right now everyone was supposed to be at a carving table with a pumpkin, although small kids got a Sharpie instead of a knife. Will was planning to carve his pumpkin into a caduceus, although he wasn't sure how accurate it would be. Across the table from him, Connor chattered amiably with Lacy, who laughed as though Connor was just the funniest thing in the world. Which was far from true.

Nico slid his pumpkin into the empty spot next to Will. "What are we doing?"

Will frowned at him. "Carving pumpkins. Why?"

"Why are we carving pumpkins?"

Will stopped mid-carving and turned to squint at Nico. "Because it's Halloween…"

"Why are we carving pumpkins on Halloween?"

Will stared at him for a few moments more, then his eyes widened in realization. "You-OH! Right. The forties. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I forgot."

Nico frowned. "So why?"

"Well, to put candles in them to ward off the evil spirits, plus you can carve in cool designs. There's templates you can use, or you can create your own design."

"Where are the templates?"

Will jerked his head to a supply table near the center of the pavilion. "There should be a bunch on that table, along with a few spare carving tools when your table is out of them. I'm sure you can find something there!"

"Okay. Thanks." Nico turned and walked towards the table. Will watched him go for a few seconds, then turn to focus again on his design. As his hands worked, his mind started to wander, and it began to focus on random conversations.

"…crush on Percy?"

"Yes!"

Will glanced to his left to see a daughter of Aphrodite conversing with a daughter of Demeter a table or two away. Oh, he knew those two. Amelia and Martha. They were fond of gossip. He tried to pay them no heed. He couldn't hear all of the conversation, anyway.

"Oh…gods!"

"Yeah!"

"How long?"

"…year? Two…maybe…have to see."

"Well, Percy…beth, anyways!"

"He does!"

"But Nico and Percy?"

Will stopped. Did…did he just hear them right? Nico had a crush on Percy?

"Nico…crush on Percy…Never…guessed!"

"I know! So…unexpected! Anyways…"

But Will was no longer listening.

Percy. Nico had a crush on Percy. Nico. Had. A. Crush. On. _Percy._

Will couldn't breathe. He didn't feel like breathing. Nico liked someone that wasn't him. Will wasn't the person that Nico had a crush on. In fact, he had barely given any thought to Nico having a crush before, which was funny, considering that Will himself slightly liked the boy.

And now…Will had no idea why he hadn't realized it before, but he liked Nico more than he had initially realized he had. Nico having a crush on Percy wouldn't have bothered him as much if he had only slightly liked Nico, but now it felt like the whole world was topsy-turvy, and he couldn't breathe right, and oh gods of Olympus Nico had a crush on someone and it wasn't Will. It wasn't Will. Nico didn't have a crush on Will. Nico did have a crush on Percy. Nico had a crush on Percy and not Will. It was Percy. It wasn't Will. It was Percy. It wasn't Will. It was Percy. It wasn't Will. It was Percy. It wasn't Will. It was Percy and it wasn't Will. It was _Percy_ and it wasn't Will. It was Percy and it wasn't _Will_. It was _Percy_ and it wasn't _Will_. _ It was Percy and it wasn't Will._

"Hey, I found this template, and I want to know if it's any good…Hey, Will? Will, you okay?" Someone gently shook Will's shoulder, and he turned around to see who it was.

Nico frowned up at him. "You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Despite feeling like everything was falling down around him, Will somehow managed to find it in himself to smile and crack a joke. "Yeah, and the ghost is you."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious."

"I know I am!" Will joked. "Now, c'mon, let's get this pumpkin all carved up! After all, today's Halloween! The day of the pumpkins! What template did you choose?"

Nico gave him a weird look, but still held up the template for Will to see. He had chosen a simple one: A skull face with semi-circles for the eyes, an upside-down heart for the nose, and a squiggly line for the mouth, which was also where the skull ended.

Will nodded in approval. "Good, good! I like it! Okay, so you need any help?"

"Yeah, to get me started," Nico answered.

"Okay, so let's get started!"

Over the course of the remainder of the evening, Will acted as though nothing was wrong. He smiled, laughed, ate candy and drank soda (a rare treat in the camp), carved pumpkins, and danced and sang-horribly, he might add-to his heart's content. When asked why he was acting so happy, he just smiled and blamed it on a sugar rush, which everyone accepted. He never knew he could lie so easily, being a child of Apollo and all. Maybe he was having a sugar rush. Or a hormone rush, at least.

Yet, no matter what he did that evening, not matter the games he played or the food he ate or the drinks he drank, his heart still pounded with the painful reminder of what he had learned only a few hours ago.

_Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy. Nico likes Percy._

_Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me. Nico doesn't like me._

_Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me._ _Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me. Nico likes Percy and he doesn't like me._

_Nico._

_Doesn't._

_Like._

_Me._

**A/N:**

**Oops, my hand slipped, and I accidentally added in drama. Poor Will. Mishearing something is never fun.**

**SecretPrussianCitizen suggested that Nico be an angel and I suddenly thought of Nico as Castiel and I actually had to sit there and laugh for a full minute.**

**Supernatural is really good so far, albeit terrifying, although I have to ask: Doesn't Sam turn into a moose or something? I hear moose jokes about him all the time, so…**

**Also, I'm not at Castiel yet, but he ends up with Dean, right?**

**And I can see Apollo kids being born with more medical conditions than other demigods (because Apollo is the god of healing lol). So I gave some conditions to a few background OC's! I'll try to have them pop up more.**

**Also for clarification Alex is half-Mexican, quarter-Mayan, and quarter-white, and was born female. I don't know, I just feel like that needed to be typed up somewhere.**

**Also, time to give you guys my tumblr! I was waiting for October to end so I could give you guys my usual tumblr URL and not my Halloween one, since I change it back after Halloween. My tumblr is gamzee-makaraoni! I reblog almost everything I see, so expect a large amount of fandom! And spoilers for the fandoms I'm a part of that you're not in.**

**Due to popular demand, I shall now write Will with Asperger's Syndrome! I'm actually quite thrilled to, since representation of Asperger's and other forms of autism are very important to me! I'll be modeling Will a little off me in terms of personality (hey look mom im still dating nico in a way lol) and I'll also being using the suggestions that other people have been leaving in their reviews!**

**Ugh I really wanna babble about other story ideas I have here but the author's note is long enough as it is already so right now I don't want to because then it will be taking up a whole lot of needed space that is necessary (if that makes any sense) so I'll just babble a little bit about them in the next author's note**

**I mean the stories probably won't be up for a while anyways so yeah I still gotta create actual plot lines**

**And quick game thing: What's your favorite line for this chapter, or the story overall? Because my personal favorite is from chapter 3 so far: "Will was probably as straight as a straight angle, while Nico was a quadratic in terms of heterosexuality." If you don't get the joke, I'll explain it real fast: Quadratics are curved lines on a graph, either opening up or down. They aren't the straight lines that we normally see. Get it now? And I'm asking because Still Random has been naming their favorite lines for each chapter, and I've been realizing what a genius I am with these lines. So send in your favorites!**

**And I cannot express my love for "Mystery Skulls-Ghost" enough. Go check it out, you guys! It's so addicting! I've watched it at least six times!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	9. Chapter 9: Impromptu Makeover

**Just so you guys know I was reading the reviews on my phone while it was charging and I put my phone on my nightstand and stood up to go throw my gum away in the trash can but the problem is I forgot the charger cord existed so I walked right into it and tripped over it and sprawled myself halfway across the room to my trash can and I have a large room and I am a small person so that is quite a feat (it also knocked my phone to the ground fortunately the sweet child was unharmed)**

**That paragraph alone proves that people shouldn't trust me with children**

**Also that is a LOT of reviews man I feel so sorry for you guys because I have such a dramatic thing planned out and now I have to answer like THIRTY SOMETHING FREAKING REVIEWS sweet Jesus**

**REVIEWS**

**Dawnie Otaku: Watching fictional characters get upset in fanmade things is different than watching them get upset in canon. Not for a while (at least not until Christmas lol). And thank you bunches! I have Tumblr so I already know like five thousand spoilers. And yeah, I am on season 1! If that's the happy season I genuinely fear the rest of the show. I'll try to have fun! Supernatural is the closest thing to horror movies that I have so far, and I've never seen a horror movie. And I watch Doctor Who I already have emotional scarring.**

**Rainbowchameleon: I agree.**

**FaiKazahaya: Yay, Lunar Chronicles is the best!**

**AnnyJackson19: Will is unable to respond right now, please leave a message at the tone. And I read that review in class lol.**

**MegglesGG: YOU CAN'T FIGHT THE FIRE…I'm sorry, I'm just really good at drama. I referenced so many fandoms…**

**Guest: Responding in chapter order okay. Hmm, yeah, I sorta did. They really should! I'll probably just buy a guy one or something, although my mom would be like "no you can't have guy shirts." Me and my bro played with his a lot when we were younger but now it's mostly him. And yes he better get this cleared up. Also please don't try to use any attempts I have written to get them together, you might get expelled.**

**A. : Oh, yayyy! I'll definitely read your story! Yeah, I really like that line too! Ooh, yes, they need to attempt to get them together somehow! Not sure what, though…OH MY GODS YES I AM SOOOOO WRITING THAT YES YES YESSS**

**CheetosPotato: Oh no I killed someone by accident again. *brings you back via magical author powers* And you just summed up that chapter entirely.**

**ToneishaShipper: Thanks, glad you love it! Oh, yay, more Aspie people! Yeah, I'm a bit good at showing affection, but I can show too much at times. Ahh, Yoo Hoo plushies! I have a little giraffe, a regular-sized leopard, and a couple mini ones from McDonald's! Stuffed animals are one of my fixations, the other one is fiction (mainly books). I always get a stuffed animal whenever my parents take me to a place with some and they let me get a thing. I don't know much about epilepsy, although I think I have a cousin who had it. And I've been thinking about giving Lexi from the Aphrodite cabin epilepsy actually, so should I? And again, I'm glad that you love it! They had like a huge journal filled with plans lol. And Annabeth and Jason were the perfect choice, but now Piper and Percy have to deal with hungover significant others. And that was such a great line! Will forced him to in the infirmary lol. And I'll try not to stop! I've written plenty of long reviews actually lol.**

**Spiesareawesome: I'm sorry I tend to ramble a lot. I can give you more, I already torture mine.**

**CHBcamper52: If I had to sum that chapter up in one word.**

**Water-an'-Wisdom: There's gonna be yelling, but not yet. And even then, it's gonna be really dramatic yelling. I unfortunately won't be writing that for this, but I can write that as a separate scene for you!**

**Green angel01: Thank you! Yes I couldn't pass up the opportunity for angel jokes**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Silly Aphrodite spawn! Solangelo is for shippers! (Also whenever I read your URL I think of Sabrina from the Sisters Grimm. Is that weird?)**

**BalletBookworm: Omg I never knew my lines were that funny. And I'm glad to explain it to you! And thanks! You can click back to read it****. Aw, poor Will!**

**WingedShadowGirlR5: Don't tell Will he might get his hopes up.**

**Kifo Entiegon: Hmm, yeah, that's probably the better word. And I put 'z' because Alex is a non-binary character, which means Alex doesn't identify with either male or female. And zhe/zher is a gender-neutral pronoun, so I use it. And thanks!**

**GhostWriter1864: Yay, we can be initiated into the fandom together! And Castiel comes in in like season 4 I only know about him through tumblr. And I'll update whenever possible!**

**Moonshroom420: SHALALALALALA MY OH MY-no wait that didn't go down so well the first time.**

**Random is Random: Haha, seriously? I'm glad this was such a good chapter! I snickered so hard when writing that omg. Yes I love Alex zhe is amazing I'm gonna write an entirely separate thing with just Alex. I just couldn't pass up the irony! Wait, seriously? I didn't know that, but that's an insanely way-past-cool fact! Never thought Asian languages could do that…Also, the lactose intolerant fact too! Wow, background playing such an important role. I love it! And I'm glad to display it accurately! I'm a little hesitant about it, since I have it and I want to display it correctly. And I adore Will too! I already have like five stalker friends lol. I'll follow you back, I mostly blog fandoms and dead things! And long comments are the best ye.**

**Snowfiregirl21: All I can say in response is OMG IM DYING THOSE TEXTS ARE PERFECTION AHHHHH. I have converted you to Connor/Lacy there is no escape. The ref was the restaurant the Aphrodite kids mentioned, because it's near an abandoned warehouse where there have been sightings of a mansion on top of the warehouse. And they'd probably go with Jasper instead of Percabeth lol. And I'm glad you love it to pieces! No don't be scared Will only yells at his cabin and Dora the Explorer. And Jason is the best in Solangelo fics amen. Also I love the Pegasus chapter woop. I never knew I could be so funny lol. I hope to get to the joke soon, as of now I'm nearly halfway through the "Faith" episode. Yay, a new follower! And that line is amazing amen. If you're so in love with it, you can marry it. You have my blessing. And it was recommended to you? Wow. Thanks for recommending it to her, Celeste! Dang it, I should've made Will dean. But someone said he should be a skeleton so yeah. And I try to update at least twice a week!**

**SOLANGELO 3: BA DUM TSSH**

**Disclaimer: If I wrote Percy Jackson every single character would probably be gay**

* * *

**C**hapter 9: Impromptu Makeover

"Oh, this is gonna be fun!"

"Shh, you might wake him up!"

"C'mon, you know he sleeps like a rock!"

Nico blinked blearily, squinting into the darkness. Someone was talking, he could hear them. However, he couldn't tell exactly who it was right now, since he had just woken up. Hazel, maybe?

"Still, but we gotta be careful!"

"Oh, shoot, he moved!"

Okay, Hazel did _not _sound like a guy.

As the fog in his mind from sleep finally cleared, Nico realized he was still in his cabin. He thought he could hear Hazel's steady breathing from her bunk, but he wasn't too sure. After all, the breathing could have easily been from any of the other people in the room.

_Calm down, _he told himself. _Maybe you're just imagining things._

"Fuck, he's awake."

_Or maybe not. Yeah. Okay. Brain: Initiate freak-out mode._

Nico sat bolt upright in his bed, hand reaching out for his sword. He knew he had put it somewhere, he just couldn't find where. Under his pillow? Next to his bed? Ugh, wherever could it be?

"Quick, grab him!"

Suddenly, a hand wrapped itself around Nico's upper arm. Yelping, he yanked it back, brain finally initiating freak-out mode. "Who's there?!" he squawked.

"Shit shit shit shit shit shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…" was his reply.

"Weird name," he grumbled.

"Thanks, I got it for my birthday," the person replied, voice dripping.

"Oh my gods, you guys," someone groaned. "Let me handle this. I'm the only one here that can function properly."

Something landed in Nico's lap. It was soft, and round, in an oval shape. He tried to push it off his lap, but it exploded. All he remembered before passing out was a sickly sweet smell, like flowers. Or perfume…

***To**** the**** tune of**** the**** Batman**** theme****-Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da-LINEBREAK! ****LINBREAK!***

The next time Nico woke up, he was strapped to a chair.

At least, he guessed he was. There was some sort of white pillowcase over his head, so thickly woven that he couldn't see through it, so he had no way to verify whether it was a chair or not. But it was hard like a chair, felt wooden like a chair, and, from what he could tell by the way he was seated in the chair, had arms and legs like a chair.

He tried to pull his wrists away from the chair's arms, but couldn't. It was then that he noticed some sort of cloth circled his wrists, keeping them there. Trying to kick his feet gave him the same result.

Okay, whoever had kidnapped him was smart. Real smart.

"Oh, finally! He's awake!"

The cloth was drawn off him with a dramatic flourish, and Nico coughed, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the new light.

When he could finally focus, he groaned when he saw where he was. Pink walls, perfectly made beds, posters of hot celebrities, a sweet smell…Aphrodite cabin. He was in the Aphrodite cabin. Of all the places that he could have been, this was probably one of the worst.

"Yay! Finally, we can start!" someone giggled.

Nico realized that a great deal of the Aphrodite campers were in the cabin. Fortunately, there was no sign of Piper, and one or two others were also not there. But most of them were, and Nico could immediately tell that whatever was about to happen to him, he was _not _going to like it.

"Nico!" Drew grinned, her smile looking more like that of a predator who had just caught its prey. Nico leaned back instinctively, and Drew pouted. "Oh, c'mon, hon! We just wanted to say that we're sorry for the ruined dinner and the Stolls pushing you and Will in the closet. We never would've allowed that!"

"I bet," Nico growled.

Drew gasped, clutching a well-manicured hand over her heart. "Why must you treat us in this way, Nico? We only have your best interests at _heart," _she smirked, and Nico got her joke. Unfortunately. "Anyways, we wanted to say that we are so sorry!"

"Yeah, that's brilliant. Your apology brings tears to my eyes, and I accept it. Now, can I go?" Nico complained, starting to strain against the bonds again. His suspicions were confirmed-He was tied to a chair, and pieces of leather encircled his wrists and ankles. This was ridiculously overboard.

Drew waved her index finger in a mock scolding pattern. "Oh, no, no, no, hun. We've come up with an extra-special apology."

"One that'll help you get Will!" someone piped up.

Drew clapped her hands together loudly. "SHUT UP!" she growled, and the entire cabin fell silent. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled, opened her eyes, and put on a cheerily fake smile.

"Anyways, we decided to give you a makeover!"

Nico just stared at them, the words taking a bit to register completely with his brain. "A…did you just say…Hang on a minute—"

But Drew smiled evilly and turned back around to face her siblings. "Minions—I mean, _siblings_—what is first on the list for Nico's makeover?"

"Wardrobe change!" someone yelled.

Nico groaned. "Please don't, I just got my clothes back yesterday!"

"Hush!" Drew made overdramatic "shush" gestures at Nico, who glared at her. She smiled nervously, then hurriedly turned back. "Um, that's complicated, so let's not right now, sweetie. Plus, all there is to wear her is these orange shirts."

"Oh…" was the person's response.

"Now, what else?"

More ideas started to spill.

"Manicure?" (No thanks. Nico didn't want his nails painted.)

"Pedicure?" (Same things as above, plus that was his feet. And they didn't need a repeat of Sciron on the cliff with the giant snapping turtle, too.)

"Face mask?" (Wasn't Halloween over?)

"Massage?" (No, Nico was _not _taking his clothes off near any of these people.)

"Spa treatment?" (A what.)

"Body lotion!" (If someone tried to touch him, Nico would gnaw their arm off at the elbow.)

And then someone shouted, "Haircut!" Immediately, the entire cabin jumped on board.

"Y'know, he _does_ need one…"

"Ooh, great idea!"

"Let's start now!"

Drew grinned evilly once more. "Ah, yes…The perfect haircut…" She rubbed her hands together and started laughing maniacally. A few joined her, unsure of why they were doing it, or why she was even doing it.

Then Drew stopped, and everyone in the cabin frowned. "Well, what are you waiting for?!" she snapped. "GET STARTED!"

The rest of the cabin gulped and immediately began scurrying around, gathering supplies which way and that. Nico groaned. This was going to take a very, very long time.

***Once again, this linebreak brings a POV change***

Something was off when Hazel woke up.

It could've been that she would have to return to New Rome tomorrow. Frank, as the other praetor, had left the day after Halloween, while Hazel had stayed for a few days more. Even though she missed her friends back at Camp Jupiter, along with all of the Roman traditions, Hazel, like the Tenth Doctor, didn't want to go. Well, sorta. But mostly not. It would've been easier if all her Greek demigod friends were at Camp Jupiter as well. At least Percy and Annabeth would be there in a year or two.

But no, that wasn't it. Hazel squinted into the morning light. It was too…too something! Oh, what was it…too…too…too _quiet..._

Hazel's eyes unsquinted as she realized she couldn't hear Nico breathing. She always woke up before Nico. _Always._

"Nico?" she called out, eyes shifting uneasily to her privacy curtain. He wasn't in the bathroom, no water was running, otherwise she would hear it. No response, no shuffling, no "for-the-love-of-all-that-is-sacred-it-is-TOO-EARLY-FOR-THIS-HAZEL."

_Okay. Brain, initiate freak-out mode._

Which her brain promptly did.

"NICO!"

Hazel yanked back her curtain, to be greeted with the sight of an empty bed sitting across from her. Hazel stared at it, until a smell hit her. It was a sickening sweet smell, like assorted flowers mixed with honey stuffed down the throat of a unicorn and barfed right back up into the same rainbow that Dorothy flew over on her way to Oz.

The smell must have been blocked by her privacy curtain, she realized. But what was causing the smell?

She stood up and walked over to Nico's bed. The smell got stronger the closer she got, so the source was there somewhere. She yanked back the covers of the bed when she got to it, but nothing was under them. Then she got down on her hands and knees and peered under the bed. Squinting into the darkness, she thought she could make something out. Sticking her hand under the bed, she reached and reached and reeeaaaaaached until her fingers fumbled and caught something.

Hazel pulled it out of the dark and stared at it. It was a heart, opened as though it were cracked in two. Inside it was a small packet of perfume, ripped open. Hazel waved it around and the smell intensified, causing her to gag and drop it. Eugh. Terrible.

_Okay, Hazel. You can do this. You just have to put together the clues! Like Sherlock or Nancy Drew or that show Leo references all the time…what was it…Clue Blues? Yeah, I think that was it._

Hazel stood up, dropping the heart. Nico gone. A heart-shaped bomb. A small packet of perfume. When she put all the clues together, it could spell only one thing:

A-P-H-R-O-D-I-T-E C-A-B-I-N.

***For once in this fanfiction, this linebreak does **_**not**_** bring a POV change***

"Piper."

Piper looked up from her French toast. "Oh, hey, Hazel! What's up?"

Jason frowned at her. "Where's Nico?"

"That's exactly why I'm here. Not to accuse you of anything, Piper, but…" Hazel dropped the heart-shaped bomb on the table. The smell filled the air almost immediately.

Piper stared at it, until she made a strangled noise and thunked her head down on the table. "My cabin…My fucking…" She sighed and lifted her head off the table.

Percy frowned. "What's happening?"

"Nico's missing, and Piper's complaining about her cabin…" Annabeth trailed off as realization dawned in her eyes, and she sighed as well. "Okay. Okay, they're off their rockers."

"Exactly." Piper leaned towards Jason to give him a kiss on the cheek, then she stood up. "Stay here and guard my food, I have a cabin to go yell at," she told him. Hazel grabbed a banana resting on the table and unpeeled it, taking a bite of the sticky sweet fruit.

"Okay, just don't kill any of them."

"No promises." She waved to Percy and Annabeth as she followed Hazel out of the pavilion.

"Your cabin has gone too far," Hazel told Piper.

"I know."

"Where did they even hide him from you?"

"They wouldn't let me in one of the bathrooms, claiming that a sink was back up. I told them I'd get Leo out of Bunker 9 to come look at it later. Looking back, I should've tried harder to get in there."

"Maybe."

The rest of the walk was silent, the air thick with tension. All Hazel could say was that she was glad that she was not and Aphrodite camper, she could practically hear Piper glowering with anger.

"Ooh, yes, that's perfect!"

"Haha, brilliant!"

Hazel could hear excited sentences of triumph as she walked up to the cabin door. Too bad she was about to crush that triumph.

Piper silently opened the door. "Hey, guys, I'm back—Wait, what are you all doing?"

Everyone was huddled around something in the middle of the room. When they heard Piper speak, all of them froze, and, collectively, turned around as one. Most of them stared, the rest had the decency to look sheepish.

"Okay, what's going on? What are we sacrificing to the Dark Lord this time?" Hazel gave Piper a weird look, but said nothing.

"Nothing," Amelia coughed. Lacy nodded next to her.

Piper crossed her arms. "Really? Because Hazel here says that she can't find her brother, and if we're sacrificing Nico, I don't think Hades will be too pleased with us."

Everyone started stammering and blaming each other.

"She said we should do it!"

"No way! You did!"

"Nuh-uh! He did!"

They all argued for a few minutes more, until they all suddenly turned to Drew and yelled, "IT WAS HER IDEA!" and pointed their fingers at her.

Drew gaped at them, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Finally, she gasped, "Why me?!"

"It's the truth!" someone yelled, and she glared in their direction.

Piper rubbed her temples, sighing. "Look, I could care less whose fault this is," she said. "Just…just free Nico from whatever torture you put him through, please."

There was more shuffling of feet, then the entire Aphrodite cabin sighed and then parted. Hazel had the absurd idea of Piper as Moses for a second, since the way the campers had parted reminded her of the Bible story the nuns had forced her to learn about Moses and the Red Sea, but all of that was forgotten when she caught sight of Nico.

He was still in his pajamas, and he had his face in his hand as though he was facepalming. And was it Hazel's imagination, or did his hair look shorter? It didn't go tumbling all over his hand like Hazel would expect it to. But right now, she didn't care.

"Nico!" she gasped, and ran across the room to him. There were leather straps around his ankles, and his other hand. There was one on the other chair arm, which Hazel presumed kept his free hand bound.

"You bound him?" she heard Piper ask incredulously. "Seriously? Okay, we need to talk about that."

Hazel hurriedly untied the bomb. "Nico, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "If I was awake, this never would've happened!"

"No, no, it's…it's not your fault, Hazel. Let's just get out of here, okay?" Nico lifted his head out of his hands, face bright red, and Hazel gasped.

His hair…His hair was a lot shorter than it had originally been, and maybe even a little bit thinner. His bangs rested against his forehead, short enough so that they wouldn't fall into his eyes. It wasn't all tumbled over the back of his neck, either.

Nico noticed Hazel staring at him, and he blushed harder. "Looks terrible, doesn't it."

Hazel shook her head and broke out into a breathless grin. "It looks fantastic!" she exclaimed. "Wait until the others see you, they won't know what hit them!"

Nico turned even redder. "You…You think so?"

"Damn, Nico. Of course she does! I'd date you if Jason wasn't around and you played my way," Piper laughed. Nico ducked his head down, and Hazel was afraid he would explode if his face turned any redder. She smiled at him and reached out a hand to help him out of the chair. He stared at it for a moment, then took it, allowing himself to be helped up.

"C'mon, let's go to breakfast, I'm sure that they're still serving," she said, and started to walk out of the cabin with his hand in hers. Piper followed, since she hadn't finished her breakfast, although she did give them a glare. "You're cleaning up," she told them.

Drew spluttered. "Wh-I-wait-"

"Nope. Head counselor orders," Piper asserted, glaring even harder at them. Her eyes changed to a stormy grey, and Hazel was glad she wasn't on her bad side. Drew shrunk away from her. Piper grinned, and walked back up to Hazel and Nico. "Let's get out of here before—"

The door swung open, and in walked Lexi Ariellano, talking to none other than Will Solace. "I'll make sure to tell my dad to renew my medication—"

Both blondes stopped short when they saw Piper, Nico, and Hazel in the cabin. Nobody spoke, until Lexi sighed. "Guys, I told you it wouldn't work."

"Whatever," Drew scoffed.

Will stared at Nico, and Nico turned red and looked away. "…You cut your hair," Will finally said.

"Yeah." Nico spoke tersely. "It's the Aphrodite cabin's fault. They cut it."

"It, uh…" Will coughed, and Hazel could've sworn that his face was a little flushed. "It looks good."

"Really?" Nico glanced back, and Hazel nearly squealed when she noticed that he had also turned red. They were both blushing because of each other!

"Yeah. I guess we go now?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Lexi! Don't forget to call your dad!" Will called as he joined Nico, Piper, and Hazel on their journey out of the cabin.

"I will! Bye!"

The cabin door slammed shut as they all walked up to the pavilion, since Nico had missed the start of breakfast. Will elbowed Nico and asked him why he allowed the Aphrodite cabin of all cabins to spruce up his appearance, so Nico had to explain the whole thing. The pace of the boys soon left both girls in the dust.

When Hazel was sure they were out of earshot, she looked up at Piper and grinned. "They were blushing!"

"So?"

"They blushed because of each other~"

Piper sighed and shook her head. "Wow, Hazel. Just wow." Then she grinned. "I'm pretty sure they do like each other though."

"I know!" Hazel laughed and linked her arm through Piper's, and together both girls walked up to the dining pavilion.

* * *

**I'm sorry for that sentence with Hazel and the Tenth Doctor. Whovians, you know why.**

**Yay, November! It's starting to get chilly in the mornings around here, although afternoons are still warm. I can't wait for it to get cold enough for me to wear the awesome scarf my grandma knitted for me last year! Although I still prefer warm seasons over cold seasons, winter is awesome! I just wish that it would actually snow around here though…**

**And I've shipped Solangelo for a month now. Wow…**

**Oh, hey, you guys know Cricket Magazine, right? Not sure if it exists outside of America, but yeah. Anyways, they're having a short story contest, and I submitted a story! I had to edit it for it to fit within the word limit (350 words? Seriously? Who can even write that little…) so it's a little choppy, but whatever. I've submitted at least two stories before, but neither of them got in. Of course, one was a blatant Harry Potter knockoff, the other one was just really weird. I hope it gets in! Keep your fingers crossed that it does.**

**There's not really a prize, it's just having your story get published. I'm gonna try for a drawing next time there's an art contest, and if they have poetry contests I'm going for that too. I might even write a letter! Sorry. I just feel so creative lately!**

**Speaking of stories, I just wanted to say I have another idea for a fic, but with Nico as the main character. It takes place after the Blood of Olympus, although there's gonna be a minor edit or two in terms of Nico. Not major ones that change the entire plot of Percy Jackson, just me having a little "I AM A BETTER WRITER THAN RICK RIORDAN" fit in my head and writing Nico "better." For example, the way Rick Riordan wrapped up Nico. I mean, seriously? The entire HoH was basically Rick dropping huge hints about Nico being depressed, and then he just goes and writes it off as him being overdramatic? Uh, no. Nico's gonna be a little bit of his sassy self from TLO, but I'm gonna write the kid how I really started viewing him in the HoH because Nico is my child and deserves a little bit better. Don't worry, I won't neglect Solangelo, that ship is amazing.**

**Sorry for that rant. As a depressed person, the chance of Nico being depressed actually made me really excited, because being able to connect with fictional characters is important to me, so it kinda disturbed me that it got written off as him being childish. So we'll have more of me treating Nico as the most precious thing in the world yet torturing him like in this chapter. I guess that makes me sorta sadistic, but I don't really give a hoot.**

**Anyways, see ya later when I complain about more fictional characters!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	10. Chapter 10: Death Over Dinner

**Forgot to mention this Thursday, but on October 6****th**** my friend texted me saying "SO WHO THE HECK IS WILL" and I replied "what" and she replied "NICOS BF OR WHATEVER WHO THE HECK IS HE" and I realized she was yelling about Percy Jackson and that it was a Blood of Olympus spoiler and I was so mad that I tore up like six pieces of paper and stomped around my room steaming like a veggie.**

**I've shipped Solangelo ever since.**

**And happy late one-month anniversary of the Blood of Olympus! Wednesday was my Solangelo shipping one-month anniversary lol. And in a week this story will have its own one-month anniversary…Amazing…**

**Anyways, this is another idea from me! I realize that I've forgotten to give people credit for their ideas in the past few chapters, so I'll be sure to go and change that!**

**REVIEWS**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Thank you! Yay, another Sisters Grimm fan! And thanks! Who doesn't?**

**CheetosPotato: I'm actually sorry for typing that lol. And yay, they're started to succeed! Big win for the OTP!**

**Rainbowchameleon: Yes, yes he did. And why wouldn't they be? Haha, couldn't resist the quote.**

**BalletBookworm: Ikr? I feel old. Oh my gosh I hope you didn't scare anyone with your scream. I loved that too! And thank you so much! I plan to have it up this month maybe!**

**MegglesGG: THE SNOW GLOWS WHITE ON THE MOUNTAIN TONIGHT…And thank you!**

**Ink2parchment: Thanks, and yes he does! Thanks, and I hope so too! Thanks, and I will update whenever possible!**

**WingedShadowGirlR5: Yes that was amazing to write. Thank you, and it is really stupid!**

**Moonshroom420: If you thought that was thick with Solangelo, read this.**

**Green angel01: Thanks, and thanks!**

**MidnightEevee: Thank you! Aww poor Will child *tries to cuddle Will but he's like ten inches taller than me and Nico is jealous in the background* And it will be! Halloween is always amazing amg. *dies with you* Percy as Ten will always be the best. Always. Glad you love it! Flustered Will is amazing yes. Also poor Will the child. They'll talk soon, don't worry! Updates are whenever possible!**

**Spiesareawesome: Oh, man, I have so many…Watching family die is one of them.**

**The Random: I can come up with some if needed! And thank you! Ah yes I love that line. Drew is Drew lol. Yes, I really want Nico to be happy, but the realistic ending would've satisfied me more. And it really had, I feel like Rick Riordan could've definitely done more, I noticed that Percy seemed to be there just for comic relief. Yes to everything in your review basically. And I'm working on the first chapter! I still need to create a plotline though…**

**Disclaimer: If Rick Riordan wrote this much drama into his books, they'd be compared to Twilight on a regular basis. Fortunately, he doesn't. But I do.**

**C**hapter 10: Death over Dinner

"Nico?"

Nico glanced up when he heard his name and, honestly, he shouldn't have been surprised to see who was standing there.

Will Solace stared down at him, his face twisted in confusion. For once, he was a little dressed up, in a nice white button-down shirt and dark gray jeans.

Compared to him, Nico felt almost underdressed. He hadn't changed his jeans, and he'd only slipped a light gray long-sleeved shirt under his black t-shirt. He had even brought his sword, although he had been assured that he would not need it.

"Will. What are you doing here?"

"Lou Ellen and Cecil said that there was someone at camp that I 'absolutely _had _to hang out with,' and sent me here. What are _you _doing here?"

"Almost the same story, but think Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy-" Will looked a little pained when Nico said Percy's name, but he didn't pay much attention. "-Leo, and Calypso."

The two boys stared at each other, the gears turning in their minds as they processed what the other boy had just said, until it finally clicked together.

"Gods of every type of religion and mythology that exists," Nico finally said and thunked his head down on the table. Will sighed and collapsed on the chair in front of him.

"I honestly had no idea who I was expecting to see," the blonde boy sighed again. "Lou Ellen and Cecil just insisted that I meet up with this guy that they know at this place, and it should've tipped me off after they said that the Aphrodite kids recommended the place. But…" Will sighed again and ran his dark fingers through his curly hair. "I guess I was just still hung up about…"

Nico frowned. "Hung up about what?"

Will dropped his hands back on the table and shook his head. "Nothing, honestly. Just stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Nothing."

Nico gave Will a funny look, but didn't bother to press further.

After a minute or two of silence, Will slapped his hand down on the table, causing Nico to jump. "So! While we're here, we should just spend our friends' money by eating. After all, they _did _promise to pay for it."

Nico was silent, then broke out into a grin. "Yeah, we should. After all, I heard this place has killer fries."

Will smiled back. "Right you are, Death Head. Right you are."

***What time is it? LINEBREAK TIME! (Also the exact moment I typed "What time is it?" Dean asked Sam what time it was lol)***

"Looks like they've agreed to stay!" Lou Ellen put down her binoculars to give Annabeth a high five. Both blondes grinned at each other. From their vantage point in the umbrella chair, they had the perfect view of Nico and Will.

"Good news for the people!" Annabeth laughed. "We chose the perfect spot to watch them."

Lou Ellen nodded. "And the safest. Leo's gonna trip the boys up somehow, I swear."

Annabeth put her binoculars back up to view Leo, Percy, Cecil, and Jason all huddled around their table. It was surprising that Will and Nico hadn't seen them yet. Then again, they both _did _seem pretty engaged in their conversation.

"Hey, guys!" Piper jogged back to their table, followed by Calypso. "I got the menus. Anything happen?" She tossed the menus on the table, one nearly skidding into Lou Ellen.

"Ack! Watch where you toss those!" Lou Ellen squealed, and all four girls laughed.

"Yeah, Nico and Will took the bait, and they seem pretty into their conversation," Annabeth said once the giggles had died down. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were actually enjoying this, just a _little_ tiny bit."

"That's because you _know_ that they are enjoying this, and they are enjoying this quite far from just a little tiny bit," Calypso retorted, and the entire table started laughing again, which earned them quite a few weird stares from nearby patrons at the restaurant and passerby walking by the iron fence that encircled the patio of the restaurant.

"So, who do you think will mess up their spying?" Lou Ellen asked, and wasn't surprised when her answer was a unanimous, "LEO!"

"No offense Calypso," Annabeth said.

Calypso smiled. "None taken. I would be more surprised if he did not screw it up."

"And given his obsession with mechanics and whatnot, he might even screw it up quite literally," Piper added, causing Annabeth to snort.

"But what if they rat us out when they get caught?" Lou Ellen asked, frowning.

Piper opened up her menu. "They know we'll kick their asses if they do."

And with that, the girls studied their menus and decided what to eat that cool November evening, on what they would forevermore call the first Solangelo date.

**A/N:**

***writes this while watching Supernatural and calls it multi-tasking***

**Bleah, the brevity of this chapter upsets me. Then again, I wasn't very up to writing more.**

**The weirdest thing about updates happening right after each other is that I have nothing new to complain about in author's notes, which is weird…**

**Oh wait yeah I volunteer at an elementary school on Fridays with a kindergarten class (one of the little kids says he loves me he's really sweet) and they're having a book fair next week and I'm gonna buy a hardcover copy of "The Blood of Olympus" along with like five other books**

**I'd buy more but it's an elementary school book fair so my options are limited**

**ALSO UM OH YEAH APPARENTLY MY FRIEND'S FRIEND LIKES THE GUY THAT I LIKE AND SHE WANTS TO DO REAL DIRTY THINGS WITH HIM WHAT DO I DO INCINERATE HER? IDK HOW DOES LOVE WORK I HAVE NO IDEA I WRITE FANFICTIONS**

**LIFE IS SO COMPLICATED YOU GUYS**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	11. Chapter 11:Save room for Chiron no Jesus

**So a character in Supernatural got his throat slit on screen and my dad said to turn off the TV and I was extremely tempted to tell him that I've seen worse. I turned it off instead.**

**And there's eighth graders visiting my high school right now I'm gonna scare all of them away lol**

**Also, this will forevermore be the best chapter title I have ever come up with.**

_**Ever.**_

**And Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen are like the Golden Trio of Camp Half-Blood and you can't tell me otherwise THEY WILL FOREVERMORE BE THE BESTEST OF THE FRIENDS-EST**

**Also Lou Ellen and Cecil's relationship is so fun to write like wow. I'm writing it as some sort of whole brother/sister thing but with some weird flirty thing going on even though I accidentally paired Lou Ellen with Miranda Gardener in my head lol.**

**(You guys need to stop reading this story because at this rate I'll create a ship for every minor character in the series I've already paired Kayla with Pollux and Connor with Lacy and I will never stop)**

**REVIEWS**

**Dawnie Otaku: Lol yes. Poor Will child, I love torturing him. Join the club of cluelessness. And I can barely write novels lol.**

**Killerninja123: Not until like next month.**

**BalletBookworm: BRING ON THE JAMS! *indignant yelling of jellies in the background* Thanks, and it is the perfect setting! Wait, you didn't finish your review…**

**Vaneria Potter: Yes, that is good. The Romance Games: May the dates be ever in your favor!**

**Moonshroom420: Someone has to tell him.**

**Spiesareawesome: Oh well, tried to help. I know, right? Although Octavian's explosion was beautiful.**

**MegglesGG: Yeah, but thanks!**

**CHBCamper52: I hope so too. And updates are when possible!**

**RavenclawDaughterofAthena: Sorry not sorry. And thank you!**

**CheetosPotato: *double blink* Fortunately this one is longer lol.**

**CreCra: They were about to give Nico eyeliner lol.**

**Infinitecity: They had to control the giggles. And they probably will be. Oh yes man am I gonna prolong the torment so fucking hard you have no idea**

**A. : They actually made it out alive lol. And that request is so epic omg.**

**Green angel101: Thanks! Heheheh…**

**GhostWriter1864: I know it does. Yes I shall write all the kickass stories. And they do lack some brains. Thanks, and I will!**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Yay! And only Aphrodite does.**

**Randomness: Lol yes. And I'll try, but she goes to his school and I don't. Oh, wow, that's weird. I like updating, but I'll try not to push myself. Haha, line breaks are the best! I know! All of the little kids are sweet. **

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Rick Riordan doesn't make jokes about a wise mythological four-legged half-Homo sapiens half-equine creature being the Lord Messiah returned. But I do.**

* * *

**C**hapter 11: Save Room for Chiron, Not Jesus

"Okay, what's the next plan?"

Lou Ellen tucked a curly strand of blonde hair behind her ear, studying the packet she was holding with such intensity that Annabeth had to restrain herself from snatching it out of her hands, lest she burn two eye-shaped holes into it with laser beams from her eyes or whatever. And seeing how she was a daughter of Hecate, she probably could if she tried hard enough.

Jason swallowed nervously, and Annabeth could tell he was probably thinking the same thing. "Well, we've already done the dinner date, and we haven't had much ideas beyond those."

Cecil leaned over Lou Ellen's shoulder to study the list. "I'll say," he snorted, and she put her hand on his face and pushed him away.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you to not read over people's shoulders?!" she grumbled.

"Eh, no, not really. So I'll just keep on doing it~"

"Shut up!" she laughed, pushing him away again. He just rolled his eyes, but quit doing it.

"Anyways, you guys have pretty much have the rest of the millennia planned out, in terms of get-together ideas," Lou Ellen continued, flipping the page she was reading over so she could look at the back, "And I must say that these are _very _interesting ideas."

"We asked basically any and every camper we could find at Camp Half-Blood for ideas, and wrote them all down. We're not planning to do all of them, some we'll cut out because they'll cost either too much money or aren't possible to do."

"I see." Cecil stroked his chin as though he were stroking a beard.

"So we gotta really look at the list at some point," Jason added.

"Also, because me and Cecil are basically Will's best friends, we'll be able to help narrow down what ideas will and will not work!" Lou Ellen dropped the packet neatly on the table and rubbed her hands together gleefully, although in her case, it looked more psychopathic than adorable.

Annabeth nodded. "Yup! That's what we gotta do!"

Cecil groaned. "Please don't tell me that we start right now, school is bad enough as it is!"

"We start."

The son of Hermes dropped his head onto the table. "Kill me," he moaned, making a fake gun with his hand and mock-shooting himself with it.

Lou Ellen nudged him with her elbow. "C'mon, Cecil! It'll be fun! We're coming up with ways to torture Will, after all."

Cecil sighed. "Fine. I'll help when I feel like it. In a thousand years, but still." His voice was slightly muffled by the placement of his head upon the table.

Lou Ellen grinned at the other demigods. "He's in."

"Only because if I don't, all of you blonde people will perform some sort of ritual to your blonde god to force me to help," Cecil groaned, lifting his head up off the table.

Jason snickered. "Blonde god?"

"I don't know, blonde people are scary. You probably _do _have a god of the blondes somewhere that you sacrifice to routinely."

"How are we scary?"

"Have you met Will?" Cecil pointed at Lou Ellen. "_Or _Lou Ellen?" Lou Ellen wiggled her fingers, smiling cheekily.

Annabeth had to bite her lip to keep from collapsing into laughter. "Yes, I have. But we're blondes too, so…"

"Yeah."

Lou Ellen flipped back to the front of the packet. "Okay! Let me undo the staple, and we can each take five pages, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Jason and Annabeth agreed, while Cecil mimed shooting himself again. Lou Ellen grinned and started to pick out the stapler with her fingernail. When it was out, she counted out five pages equally and handed them out to each person. Cecil sighed, but started to read. As they went down the papers, each person crossed items out with a pen, sometimes muttering things like "No, too expensive" or "April's a long way off" or even "How are you supposed to kick the cow hard enough to send it over the hot air balloon?"

None of them heard the footsteps rapidly approaching the Athena cabin from the outside until they were nearly outside the door. Jason lifted his head up from his list. "Hey, do you guys hear something-"

_BAM!_

Leo burst through the door, running at a full-speed football-style tackle, as though he were fiercely protecting the ball from the opposing players trying to get to it, which made Annabeth wonder if Coach Hedge had ever forced Leo to play football at the Wilderness School. The son of Hephaestus just kept going until he ran smack dab into the wall, falling backwards on the floor.

"Leo!" Everyone jumped up to stare at their fallen friend. "Are you-"

The words were barely out of Annabeth's mouth before she heard what sounded like dogs panting, and she turned to see Percy, Piper, and Calypso, standing by the door, bent double as they huffed and puffed.

Lou Ellen looked back from them to Leo to them to Leo in confusion. "Uh, guys? What's going on?"

"Trouble! Big, huge trouble!" Piper gasped, before collapsing in a heap on the floor. Jason yelped and ran to assist his fallen girlfriend.

"We ran…as…fast…as we…could!" Calypso wheezed.

By then, Annabeth had also walked over to put her hands on Percy's shoulder. "What's going on?" she asked him loudly, shaking him a little.

Percy coughed. "Don't shake me so hard, Wise Girl."

Leo's head suddenly popped up between Lou Ellen and Cecil, causing both demigods to shriek and fall off their stools. "Chiron called a counselor meeting!" he announced.

Annabeth frowned. "How's that so bad? I mean, it's off-schedule, we just had our monthly one a few days ago, but still."

"He didn't call all of the cabins that usually have to come to the meeting!" Piper added, now sitting up with Jason's help.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "That's weird. But not really a cause for concern."

"He didn't call Apollo and Hades!"

"Apollo and Hades…" Annabeth trailed off.

_Let's see, who's the head of the Apollo cabin? Will. And who's the head of the Hades cabin? Nico. So he didn't call Will and Nico-oh. Oh. OH._

Annabeth and Jason jumped up at the same time. "HE DIDN'T CALL WILL AND NICO!" they yelled.

Calypso nodded. "Are we in the fire and not the frying pan?" she asked.

"Yes, Calypso. I believe we most certainly are," Annabeth answered.

***Why didn't Chiron require Will and Nico's presence at the counselor meeting? Stay tuned after this linebreak.***

The mood around the Ping-Pong table was heavy and tense, many of the campers silent. Those that were not chattered nervously.

Katie from Demeter and Lou Ellen played a round of Rock-Paper-Swords, Lou Ellen's nervousness causing her to accidentally morph her hands so that they did look like a rock, paper, or sword. Connor and Travis shook up cans of Coke, glancing around nervously. Butch from Iris tapped his fingers on the table, while Alexia Cantu from Nike glared at him, wanting him to stop but too afraid to ask. Percy, Piper, Jason, and Annabeth didn't say a word, while Leo assembled a miniature nuclear reactor and then disassembled it. Even Clovis was awake, which was a miracle in itself.

The room stayed like that for a while, until Kyle Ezra from Janus looked up from his book and asked, "Hey, where's Will and Nico?"

The members of the Seven currently present at the meeting jumped and tried not to look panicked. Clarisse just growled and told him, "Didn't you hear the memo? Chiron didn't call for Hades and Apollo's presence."

Kyle frowned. "But I thought he called a counselor meeting?"

"Maybe they're just busy with a thing! Right?" Katie asked, focus otherwise unwavering from her game. "I mean, why else wouldn't they be here? Chiron doesn't know about Solangelo so-"

The door opened them, and everyone jumped, expecting Chiron, Mr. D, or, even worse, both of them. But it was only Kayla from the Apollo cabin, followed by Hansika Chaddra from Nemesis.

"Sorry I'm late!" Kayla grinned. Hansika just walked over to a stool and sat down, pulling out a blade and a small sharpener, as to sharpen it. Kayla walked over to the stool between Percy and Lou Ellen, sitting down. "Chiron told me to fill in for Will today. Do any of you guys know what that's about? Because I haven't seen him since lunch."

Everyone gulped.

Kayla looked around. "Hey, where's Nico? Will's not here, and Nico's not here…oh, no. Who told Chiron?"

Everyone started shouting all at once, defending themselves, until a voice said, "Enough."

Chiron walked into the room, hooves clicking against the polished marble floor. Behind him, Mr. D. took a sip from his soda can and trudged behind him. Every camper started to silently pray to their godly parent, even Pollux, whose parent was in the same room as him.

Mr. D. nudged Chiron. "The brats are praying to their parents," he fake-whispered.

Chiron sighed. "Please, nephew, let us begin the meeting." Annabeth was confused, until she remembered that Chiron was a son of Kronos, as was Zeus, so any child of Zeus would technically be Chiron's niece or nephew. So Chiron would be her…great-uncle? She found pleasure in the thought of being related to the kind centaur that way, as he was a second father to her. But she was still scared.

Mr. D. pulled out a stool next to Connor and grunted in dissent. Connor turned a shade paler, and sweat broke out on his forehead. Needless to say, everyone pitied him, even Pollux, although he was a bit miffed that his father didn't want to sit down next to him.

"I supposed you are wondering why I have called all of you here today," Chiron announced, standing at the head of his table with his hands behind his back. Everyone gulped.

"Not really," Piper lied, with a strained smile on her face. Chiron raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more. She was relieved. Maybe this wasn't about Solangelo!

"You see, I have taken notice of a few, ah, _incidents _that have been happening in this camp. They were truly brought to my attention last week when a certain camper visited the Big House, complaining about the disappearance of his clothing."

Everyone gulped again. Nico had brought his missing-clothes problem up to Chiron. This shouldn't have been surprising, since they were wondering how he had managed to get them from the Hermes cabin unharmed, and nobody from the cabin was willing to say what convinced them to give back those clothes.

"What do you mean?" Alexia asked.

"I mean as in singing cabins, bothering the Oracle, surprise dinners, locked closets, and stolen clothing, not to mention a few others."

With each word he spoke, the campers' stomach sank lower and lower. Chiron knew. Chiron knew, and they were so totally busted. Mr. D. snickered, and took a swig of his soda.

"How...How did you know?" Jason finally asked.

"You have me to thank for that," Mr. D. said, and everyone turned to stare at him. He glared. "What? It's not my fault. There was a meeting on Olympus last night, and Aphrodite just would not _shut up _about your little shipping club. Needless to say, Apollo wants to join the moment he's allowed to leave Olympus and Hades is plotting murder."

Having the heads of the camp know was bad, but the godly parents of the OTP? Even worse.

"Please don't let him kill us," Leo whimpered.

Mr. D. snorted. "I could honestly care less about what Hades does, I don't give a hoot about your little shipping club," he claimed, and everyone felt three thousand tons of pressure lift itself off their chests. "Just let me know when you get them together, because Ares bet three dozen drachmas that they get together after New Year's, and I'm gonna prove him wrong. Because if there's one thing I know after being stuck in this camp for years, it's that you brats are surprisingly resourceful."

"Yes, sir!" Leo saluted, then realized what he was doing. "Oh, wait…" Next to him, Jason facepalmed.

Mr. D. waved a hand in Leo's direction. "See that? That's respect." Then he snapped his fingers and was gone, leaving the smell of Grape Coke behind.

There was a moment of silence, until Kyle spoke up. "Chiron, are we in trouble?"

Chiron chuckled. "Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble from me or Dionysus. In fact, I bet a few drachma myself that they get together before Christmas." Then he frowned. "But do try to tone it down, stealing Mr. di Angelo's clothes was going quite too far. And tell your cabins that as well."

Everyone nodded solemnly, but they couldn't help themselves from grinning. They weren't in trouble, from Mr. D. nor Chiron! And they even seemed to approve! They could practically hear a church choir singing "Hallelujah" in this distance.

But Chiron wasn't finished speaking. "And I don't believe you need to worry about me or Mr. D. being the ones that are upset."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, until the door flew open.

Standing in the doorway was none other the Nico di Angelo and Will Solace.

* * *

**Oops, a cliffhanger not as bad as the cliffhanger from the Mark of Athena!**

**Is Mr. D. even back at Camp Half-Blood yet in the books? Eh. I don't really care, plus it's easier to write it with Mr. D. being back.**

**I actually think this may have been the first time I have ever really written Mr. D. It was more fun than I expected it to be.**

**And my chapters are starting to get shorter. Huh. That's funny. I really want to make them longer but I'm just too lazy to. I guess I need more drama!**

**Has anyone seen Big Hero 6 yet? Because whenever I see a commercial I look at Hiro and think "He is totally Nico di Angelo don't lie to me." In looks, at least. Although going off the fact that Hiro has an older brother who's dead, and Nico has an older sister who's dead…I actually came up with an AU for a movie I have yet to see lol. Oh well, I did the same thing with the Book of Life.**

**And what if Will met Baymax? C'mon, guys. A guy who is totally in love with healing stuff and whatnot that wants to be a doctor meeting a robot that **_**is **_**a doctor? He'd die of happiness. And also try to get Leo to make a Baymax for him lol. Nico would be so jealous.**

**Also, challenge for every chapter of the entire story starting now: Name your favorite line from each chapter! It can be any line, I won't judge! Just a line that made you laugh or cry or whatever!**

**Also DOCTOR WHO SEASON FINALE OH MY GOD WAS THAT EVEN REAL THAT WAS OH MMY FLIPPIOMG GOD**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	12. Chapter 12: Talk to the Camp

**We have to read a packet with six articles in it for Geography about different subjects that related to culture (Inspirational quotes from black leaders, a debate about whether Islam is more violent than other religions, piracy in China, etc.) and write a paper about it for Geography. So I started it in class and gave my first paragraph to the teacher, and I literally started the paragraph saying "I believe that some of these documents lack an opposing viewpoint on the issue that it talks about." And then I went on to talk more about the biased viewpoints of the article (Don't get me started on the one about Islam because it was SO BIASED) and whatnot. So the teacher started talking about how one student was like "these papers need an opposition to what they're writing about" and he was like "yes she's got it" and I think he was talking about me and he's one of my favorite teachers so I just kinda got excited (I was going to correct him on my gender bc I'm genderfluid but hey what can I say I got caught up in the moment)**

**REVIEWS**

**MidnightEevee: Yes that line is also one of my favorites. It didn't really work but it sparked something at least.**

**FallingNarwhals: So does the rest of the town. And thank you! I'm glad you support AS Will! Also yay more autistic people. Never skipped a grade, but HP rules! Thanks, I will!**

** .forever: Thank you so much omg!**

**7AnonymousPython7: Oh god yes please write that**

**CheetosPotato: It's Hiro, but omg ikr? I'm gonna think that through the movie too, and I wanna see the artwork in the credits! Ah yes that line is basically me in all of my friendships**

**Icestorm238: Yes that line made me snicker when I first thought of it. And thanks! I certainly will!**

**Rainbowchameleon: Someone please draw that I want that to be the cover for this story omg.**

**DarthGranola: Oh man, you will not be disappointed.**

**Spiesareawesome: Ikr?! I can't wait to see it! Disney is amazing, but don't forget that other cool movies are out too! The Book of Life slayed me I swear**

**MegglesGG: I have blonde friends and I can confirm that that line is so true probably. Yes the Lou Ellen and Cecil relationship is so cute omg. And dat cliffhanger tho**

**GhostWriter1864: Oh man the bets the bets the beeeeeettttsssss okay here's a list of the bets that were placed**

**Hades: Plotting murder**

**Demeter: Bet five drachmas that there's cereal at their wedding**

**Poseidon: Bet fifty drachmas that they're secretly dating**

**Hestia: Bet thirteen drachmas that they have a happy life together**

**Zeus: Bet ninety-nine drachmas that they don't get together**

**Hera: Abstained, because she's the goddess of marriage, and can hold some leverage over Solangelo**

**Aphrodite: Abstained, because it wouldn't be fair since she's the goddess of love**

**Athena: Bet two hundred drachmas that they get together on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day**

**Hermes: Bet sixty-nine drachmas that they already fricked**

**Hephaestus: Bet seventy-two drachmas that they get together by kissing**

**Ares: Bet three dozen drachmas that they get together after New Year's**

**Dionysus: Bet three dozen drachmas that they get together before New Year's**

**Artemis: Bet five dozen drachmas that Will has more success than his father ever will**

**Apollo: Bet fifty dozen drachmas that they just get together period**

**Credit for this chapter goes to the interstellar ItMeGabs!**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: The rest of the room shivered along with you. And thanks!**

**CHBcamper52: *revives you* Wait that says fangirls not faints whoops**

**UnderworldPrincess17: Yes that line is perfection. When I first saw Hiro I actually thought he was Nico at first and was on the verge of calling Disney and telling them about copyright laws until I realized. And thank you! I most certainly will!**

**Snowfiregirl21: Nico so sassy he got them Shakira hips to go with that sassiness. BUT HE IS PRECIOUS AS WELL *hugs Nico and dropkicks all others away into next week until Will rips him out of my grasp* Also my Drew is getting better yay. NICO WITH CUT HAIR AND HIM BLUSHING WITH WILL ACTUALLY SLAYED ME I SQUEALED WHILE WRITING THAT SCENE ASHUAUI. Haha yes I only write fics I do not know how to real life.**

**Will: *ignores your advice by dodging everything***

**Everyone: GDI Will.**

**Now to get back to your review(s): Ah yes that chapter was fun to write, this chapter I literally pulled almost everything out from thin air. All the gods simultaneously ship and bet on them except for Hades (so far). Yup that's how you spell it I'm sure. And that was the most canon I've written those gods actually. I flail when I see Big Hero 6 like my mom was watching "Dancing with the Stars" and she fast-forwarded through a commercial for Big Hero 6 and I was like "MOM NO WAIT GO BACK" and she gave me a weird look but played it anyways. Also your dad is amazing. AND ILY TOO AHHHHHHHHHH**

**Moonshroom420: They dead.**

**A. : They dead-dead. Apparently Dakota wrote that and no one has no idea why. Ah yes the tension that is Dionysus and Ares. I know a little of what happens which means I need to get off Tumblr before it gets completely spoiled lol. I want a Baymax actually. I can't really judge until I see it though, which I have a feeling will be over Thanksgiving when my dad's mom and her second husband are here (my dad's parents are divorced). Aww yiss. Omg why be thankful for this story I'm gonna break all your feels at some point lol.**

**CreCra: Hiro is now mini-Nico everyone**

**Nico: We aren't even the same race**

**Hiro: He's white and I'm Japanese**

**Me: DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE**

**Solangeloftw: All funny, all the time. But this won't help you sleep though and I've been in that position so many times bro like you have no idea. And thank you!**

**Randomdomdom: "The Kingdom of Random" is your next one isn't it. Children of Hermes are the best except when there's Leo. Cecil lightens up all situations! And of course Connor and Travis would lol. Nico was (cough and is cough) my PJO crush. Although I'm getting attracted to Reyna and Piper and Calypso (also I think I had a bit of a crush on Rachel at some point frick). I'll just say that I'm attracted to all female Percy Jackson characters and leave it at that. I don't even have a favorite lol prolly Poseidon. And yes we must appreciate that. I'm like so used to that dynamic now lol I have so many things to blame (Fred and George, Nico and Bianca, Homestuck in general…). I have a Tumblr so I can't judge lol. Also I looked up the plot of Homestuck before I read it and I don't mean a synopsis I mean down to every last detail and the comic was around four years old at the time so the plot was LONG and afterwards I had a headache and had to lie down. I need to write longer chapters but school and my new askblog and life in general bluh. Oh well at least it's funny. That line is one of my favorites lol.**

**Percy: Percy what are you doing don't read my story DON'T READ IT but yeah Hiro is Nico basically BUT DON'T READ THIS I HUMILATE YOU IN THIS PERCY**

**BalletBookworm: Or a blessing, considering which god you're talking about. And thanks! Think it was the first time I wrote him, too…Yes there is a blonde god lol. Eee I try lol. "Never trust technology," say the demigods of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, along with the wizarding students of Hogwarts. "Never."**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan could never write the amount of sass that I wrote in this chapter.**

**C**hapter 12: Talk to the Camp

"Hey." Nico leaned his arm against one side of the doorframe, while Will leaned back against the other with his arms folded across his chest. Neither boy was smiling.

"Hi, Nico!" Percy waved, until Annabeth swatted his hand down. His grin turned into a grimace of pain.

"So. Chiron knows now." Nico pushed off from the doorframe and walked into the room, hands stuffed in his pockets. Jason was almost sure he was somehow channeling the ghost of Dean Winchester, what with the little "tough bad boy" thing he had going on, except there were two problems with that: A. Dean wasn't dead, and B. He was a fictional character. Then he wondered if Will found Nico's current attitude attractive. He told himself to shut up and focus on what was going on.

Speaking of Will, he had followed Nico into the room, silently glaring at anyone he made eye contact with. Jason was afraid he was on Will's bad side now, which was always a nasty place to be. He'd heard the tales of Will in the infirmary, and had even seen him in action a few times. He could stab you with a knife and claim that his hand slipped from fatigue because he had to treat so many others before you and quite possibly get away with it.

"I'll just leave you guys to talk in peace. Please try not to kill each other," Chiron announced, already starting to clip-clop towards the door.

Jason jerked his head up. What?! He was just _leaving _them to the mercy of the two boys?! "Uh, sir-"

But the door slammed shut, and Chiron was gone.

The room stayed silent for a beat or two, until Nico turned from the door where he had watched Chiron exit and yelled, "Are you fucking _INSANE?!"_

"My mother had me tested."

"Leo, I'm being serious."

"So was I."

Nico glared at Leo, who put his hands up in defense and exclaimed, "What?! How else do you think she knew that I had ADHD?"

Nico just sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Jason still wasn't quite used to his forced haircut, but he had to admit that Nico looked great. If Jason played that way and he was single, he would totally go out with Nico. But he didn't, he had Piper, and he was trying to get Nico with Will anyways. Although he had gotten everyone to back down a little after talking with Nico. Well, it hadn't worked out that well, but still.

"Just…Seriously. Back. Off. I already asked Jason to tell you guys to."

"I did, Nico, I'm just not sure how long that message stuck with _some people," _Jason defended, and some of the campers in the room had the decency to look sheepish.

"I told my cabin!" Clarisse cried.

"We told ours!" Katie and Lou Ellen swore.

"Mine is on a tight leash after the haircut incident," Piper promised.

"My cabin was told!" Kyle claimed.

"My cabin wants nothing to do with this," Hansika announced. This wasn't really news to anyone.

Connor and Travis looked at each other.

"Did you tell them?" Connor asked.

"Did _you?" _Travis retaliated.

"I thought _you_ were gonna tell them!"

"I thought _you _were!"

They both turned as one. "Our cabin semi-knows!" they chorused.

Will snorted and rolled his eyes, the most he'd done since entering the room. "Seriously? You guys are hilarious!"

"Thanks! It's in our blood!" Connor exclaimed as Travis dipped into a quick bow. Will narrowed his eyes but didn't say more. Huh. He had been pretty moody lately. Ever since Halloween, come to think of it. Jason was definitely going to have to ask about that later. Not in interest of the club, of course. Well, maybe a little bit. But mainly as a friend, because if Will was being less of a happy-go-lucky sarcastic flagpole (he could be a flagpole if he didn't want to be a doctor, actually) than he usually was, then something was definitely up. But not right now, though, now was far from a good time.

"Yeah, well, try telling your cabins again. I've found many things slipped under my door the past few weeks, and I'd rather not discuss what they were, exactly."

The room suddenly felt really awkward.

"And the infirmary door too," Will added. "Also, some people have been going in there and harassing me about it when I'm trying to work, so if you could tell them that the next time they do that I will hunt them down with a syringe full of Greek fire to inject in them, that'd be great."

Everyone nodded, with a chorus of "yup" and "we will!" going around the room, along with one or two people making a note of that with a pen on their arms.

Nico sighed, obviously relieved. "Seriously. Please try to quit it, at least." Jason knew that Nico could've said that better, since everyone was just going to point out that Nico said "try," when he obviously wanted them to stop completely, but Jason was going to focus on the "try" part as well, and he hated being a hypocrite.

"Okay! Now that that's out of the way! Hang on, I'm thirsty, and there's soda in here for once, thank the gods." Will picked up a Coke and twisted it open, and Jason realized all too late what was about to happen to him.

"Um-" was all he could get out before fizzy, bubbly brown liquid exploded into Will's face.

Some of the campers released nervous giggles, while the Stolls just grinned cheekily. Lou Ellen gasped and cast out her hand, muttering an incantation in Ancient Greek as green tendrils of mist surrounded it. The tendrils shot forward and wrapped themselves around the Coke spurting out of the can, pushing it back in. The tendrils shot back to Lou Ellen and she collapsed back on her stool, but the damage had been done: Will's hair was now dripping wet with the sugary liquid, along with his face and the majority of his tank top. Even parts of his shorts had not escaped the blast. He stared unblinkingly at the can, until he sighed and threw it at the Stolls, who yelped and ducked.

"You. Guys. Think. You. Are. So. Fucking. Hilarious," he said through gritted teeth before picking up a paper towel roll on a side table, and proceeding to use it to wipe off his face. Everyone started laughing at that point-even Nico released a few chuckles-and Will scoffed at them, but smiled as well.

"You okay, Lou?" Will asked once the giggles had died down.

Lou Ellen waved a hand tiredly. She hadn't laughed as much as the other campers when the giggles had really been going, Jason realized. "Fine. A bit tired. Exerting my powers too much, and not enough sleep."

Will frowned. "I will put you in bed rest."

"I know."

The somber spell of the room had broken, and campers were beginning to ease up, a few sidebar conversations starting. Hansika got up, shoving her sharpener in her dress pocket, and walked up to the door to open it and leave, which reminded Jason.

"Hey, you guys wanna go now? There's that thing me and Annabeth need to finish…" Jason said.

"Sure!" Piper spun around and stepped lightly off her stool, being the picture of sophisticated grace that only Aphrodite children could be. Jason took her hand and she laughed, swatting playfully at him. "I don't need any help!" she scoffed.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to be sure." Jason leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Piper snorted and leaned in towards his mouth so she could kiss him properly, and he obliged.

"Get a room!" Someone squawked, and they broke apart to see their friends grinning at them.

"We could say the same about you and Calypso sometimes, Leo," Piper grinned.

Leo spluttered. "I-what-"

"Oh, let's just go!" Nico grumbled.

"I agree, with my best buddy Nico!" Percy pulled Nico into a side hug, and the younger boy yelped.

"Percy, please don't," he muttered.

Percy winced and let go of him. "Ah. Sorry. Just should've tried to help with getting everyone to quit harassing you and Will sooner."

"Apology accepted, but the next time you apologize, please don't hug me."

"So we cool?" Percy gave a thumbs up.

Nico rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Sure."

"Awesome!" Percy linked arms with Annabeth, who thwacked him upside the head for being "such a Seaweed Brain," causing him to "OW!" and rub where she had hit him, complaining about having to sport around a huge lump on his noggin for the next few days and a half. She just scoffed again, but with a smile on her face. They started chatting and walked towards the door.

Jason laughed and turned to face Will. "You com-"

The words died on his lips as he noticed that Will was currently trying to bore eye-shaped holes into Percy's back. Jason was actually surprised that Percy's shirt literally wasn't catching fire, which was how intense Will's stare was.

Jason shivered. What had Percy done that had gotten Will so mad at him? They've never really talked much before the whole Solangelo business had started, but certainly Percy had never done anything in those rare interactions to upset Will, had he?

Someone grabbed Jason's arm, jolting him out of his thoughts. He yelped and jumped nearly five thousand feet in the air. He could've, if he wasn't under a closed ceiling, actually. But that was beside the point.

Olive green eyes stared up at him. "You okay?"

Jason sighed. It was only Piper. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

She narrowed her eyes a little. "Are you sure? You seem…" She put her index finger on her bottom lip. "…Surprised, for some reason."

Jason scoffed. "Me?! Surprised?! Well, surprised at the whole Coke thing, still."

"If you say so."

Jason grimaced, hoping it didn't look like one. He hated having to lie to Piper-she knew he was lying, though, it was obvious-but he wanted to talk to Will himself. He didn't want to sound sexist, but it would probably be better if Will vented out whatever frustrations he had to a guy instead of a girl. Jason seemed to be the only candidate, because Will had something against Percy, Leo was not to be trusted, and Frank wasn't here. Well, there was also Cecil and Nico, but Jason wanted to do this himself.

"Alright, let's go!" Jason tapped Leo on the shoulder, disturbing whatever conversation he was having with Nico. Over what, Jason wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Hell yeah! You coming, Will?" Leo turned around to face Will, and his grin faltered. Jason looked up to see why.

Will was still glaring at the door, but Leo's voice seem to jerk him out of his thoughts. "What?"

"We're going, big guy. Look, the room's nearly empty, except for us!" Leo gestured around. Indeed, Piper, Jason, Leo, Nico, and Will were the only people left in the room. "You okay, man?"

Will scowled, which didn't look right on his usually smiley/smirky face. "Fine. I'm fine. I am completely and utterly fine! I just want to go somewhere, shower to get all this soda off of me, and then burn these clothes so all the soda is gone!" he snapped. Then he saw everyone's shocked expressions and sighed, his features softening. "Sorry, guys. All the pestering in the infirmary, it…was kinda leaving me high-strung. Didn't mean to take it out on you."

"It's okay." Nico walked over to Will and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, although he nearly had to stand on his toes in order to do so. "But Leo's right, we gotta go."

"Okay then!" And then Will turned immediately back into Mr. Sarcastic Sunshine. "Let's go on an adventure!" Nico groaned and said that he didn't want to, but Will only ruffled his hair and laughed. And it felt like everything was normal again. Leo cracked a joke about adventures too, while Piper laughed and Jason scoffed. The five demigods left the room, chattering inanely, and split up almost immediately to go their separate ways.

But Jason wasn't about to forget Will's little personality change back there, oh, no. He was definitely going to figure out what was up, and fix it as soon as he could. As of now, he'll just have to find a way to talk to Will alone.

**A/N:**

**Have you heard of procrastination? I'm quite the expert on it lol. That and getting colds whenever the season's first cold front rolls in *sneezes*. Winter ily but my bedroom floor is littered with tissues and I'm tired of having to pee all the time bc I drank a lot of water.**

**When will Solangelo learn that they will never not be tortured lol**

**I wrote Nico in the hottest position ever at the beginning oh lawdy**

**And not much to complain about, other than Doctor Who because the season finale left me a wreck lol**

**And Homestuck**

**Oh my GOD Homestuck**

**Plus me and my dad were driving home from church listening to the radio when all of a sudden "Never Gonna Give You Up" started playing and I groaned and my dad asked me what was wrong and I had to explain what a Rick Roll was to him.**

**Nicely played, SiriusXM. Nicely played.**

**And yes I go to church and yes I write fanfiction. "Church" and "fanfiction" should not be in the same sentence in my opinion but whatever.**

**Also I wanna write one-shots for my Percy Jackson OCs now I started one for Alex and I have an idea for one for Lexi lol (they won't be funny though mostly serious)**

**And keep on telling me your favorite lines! I wanna hear them all!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	13. Chapter 13: Making People Jealous

**EDIT: For the cover contest, which ends tomorrow at 11:59 pm American Central time, my tumblr is gamzee-makaraoni. I forgot to put this with the original chapter oops. Please submit art there, or links to the art!**

**MY BROTHER SAW BIG HERO SIX WITHOUT ME AND I'M PISSED AF**

**There was a thing after school on Friday where we could stay and watch a movie or play games and right now I am listening to a movie from India and being thoroughly confused by the plot**

**And happy one-month anniversary to this story! Also I have over 200 reviews wow! I remember when "APOLLO!" got like 300 reviews which took like over 6 months or so to accomplish. Meanwhile I get 100 less than that amount in a sixth of that time lol. Then again, this story isn't gonna last as long. I expect it to end with 2014 lol. Well, a little after, but still.**

**Also Random please review ASAP because I find myself reluctant to start a new chapter without seeing a review from you on the previous one lol**

**REVIEWS**

**MegglesGG: Shh don't say that he'll start singing "Fabulous" again and wear a bright pink Speedo which is a sight only for Piper's eyes. Poor Percy, Will's gonna stab you with medical tools. Thanks! Yes he is a sexy beast isn't he *disgruntled noises coming from Will in the background***

**Kari McCartney: Oh, shit, I made a Big Bang Theory reference? (I typed that at one in the morning and said "Bing" instead of "Big" lol) That was subconscious, my crush likes it and he wore a shirt with that line on it a lot I'm not creepy at all lol. Yes in character Jason and Dean is a sexy beast *approval noises coming from Will in the background***

**Rainbowchameleon: See the bottom author's note for further discussion of the drawing. Also yes procrastination haha. I didn't even mean to make it lol I just thought of it (I blame my crush's shirt).**

**FallingNarwhals: Long chapters ftw! Oh god don't destroy your brother lol. Dude I upload these chapters at school lol.**

**CheetosPotato: Oh the pain. Yes they were hot. Fortunately I don't need to shrink in age and I swing everyone's way, but he's fictional so *tear rolls down face***

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Yes Will burn dem clothes. *campfire is created from clothes* Thanks!**

**Spiesareawesome: Connor and Travis are a gift from the Lord *church choir in the distance***

**Jules Wanderlust: Oh my god THANK YOU! I reference everything lol. Also I still need to finish the finale lol. I cried bc Osgood was perfection and she didn't want to go, just like the Tenth Doctor lol. Also I for sure thought Clara was going to tell Danny she was pregnant lol. Yeah, something like that is gonna happen as the finale, so I'll add it in, thanks! And you're not creepy, I'm the creepy one. My mother had me tested *ba dum tssh***

**Moonshroom420: *award appears next to you saying "Gave World's Best Review"***

**SilverDawn1313: I'm gonna kill someone with laughter one of these days I s2g. And did you read this all in one sitting? Because your review for chapter 3 and your review for chapter 12 are like an hour away from each other omg. And here's your new chapter!**

**ToneishaShipper: Ah yes the Stolls are amazing. Haha, don't worry, I've done that a couple of times myself! And I already have like a ton of reviews so I'm good lol.**

**CHBcamper52: You can't go anywhere in my room without stepping on one lol. I've already used up one box and am close to finishing my second wow. Also I keep coughing ugh. I'm glad you love it! And he'll find out at some point, not sure when, though. I don't want to disturb the plotline I already have set up for this.**

**Snowfiregirl21: HOW DO I HELP YOU AHHHHH. Omg where were you even reading it. Dean Winchester is the greatest lol. Ah yes I love that dialogue. The Stolls will forevermore be dorks until I say so. Which is never. Will is like the scariest thing to walk the earth I s2g. Yes hot Nico leaning against doorframes is the best someone draw him like that please**

** .I.2000: Jealous Will, Jealous Will, does whatever a Jealous Will does. I'm glad that you think this is funny! I can just imagine everyone being like "I CALLED IT!" Yes Solangelo 5ever. aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *squeals at the compliment, blushes, and ducks under table* TH-THANK YOU! !**

**7AnonymousPython7: I think I've done that once lol. Then again, it was a dialectical journal and the book was "Dark Water Rising," which pained me to read. Dude I keep on mentally comparing every song I have to Solangelo lol. Or Homestuck. Also after we saw "The Book of Life" me and my friends starting comparing every song on the radio to it, and then "Story of my Life" came on and we started laughing. Also it's funny because I'm listening to "Rap God" as I write this and it powers me SO MUCH. And here's more!**

**Random Kingdom: Word limit why u gotta be so ruuuuuude**

**Why don't you just let Random revieeeeeewwww**

**Why u gotta be so ruuuuuude**

**Solangelo is adorable anyways**

**(Adorable)**

**Adorable anyways**

**(Adorable)**

**Adorable anyways**

**Yes you are unstoppable. Oh God please start those now I don't want you to fall behind it's terrible. Mine will probably say "Tripped on a Rock and Fell off a Cliff Accidentally." Ah yes I love that chapter. Nico as Dean Winchester will always be the best, and Will is so tall the Stolls wrapped a sheet around him and declared him the back-up flagpole for Camp Half-Blood. He wasn't amused. Travis and Connor are the best, and despite reading the book like almost five years ago or so I am still in denial over Fred. I was going to write a Coke explosion scene anyways I have a weakness for scenes like that. Poor Will child**

**Will: I will hunt **_**you **_**down with a syringe full of Greek fire**

**Me: Wow ruuuuuude**

**Anyways, yes Will and Nico are THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST AHHHHH. They so blind to it I mean you can practically hear "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" whenever they're next to each other. Although I guess for them it would be the Homestuck version, "Can You Feel the Gay Tonight." Chiron is rolling out, peasants. *Chiron turns into a Transformer* Wait what. That is actually my favorite threat I have created ever and I will always use it haha. Oh yeah MY BROTHER SAW IT WITHOUT ME ALREADY IM PISSED I tried interrogating him about it but he's all "Watch it urself" and I'm like "Okay fine I'll find it illegally online somewhere." AHHHHHH FEEEEELS JEIORFUEMPHFUwermowHRO**

**Credit goes to the majestic mourningsongg for this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Even Rick Riordan doesn't torture his characters this much.**

* * *

**C**hapter 13: The Perils of Making People Jealous

"Well, now we need a different approach," Lacy decided.

The entire Aphrodite cabin was lying around on the floor. Mitchell was carefully painting Lacy's nails a fine white, with small light blue snowflakes in the middle. Drew re-applied her eye shadow, and Amelia was braiding her long red hair. Lexi flipped to the next page of her book before looking up. The only member absent was Piper, who was out canoeing with Jason, Leo, Calypso, and a few others.

"And what, pray tell, might you be talking about?" she asked, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She knew exactly what Lacy was talking about, but she hoped she wasn't. She was starting to tire of this whole Solangelo business, and she was also enjoying the silence of the cabin for once.

"Solangelo! I mean, we can't tease Will in the infirmary anymore, not without Will poisoning us at least. But maybe there's another way? Something else we can do?"

"I told you pestering him was a bad idea. I know him better than you do." Lexi turned back to her book.

"Seriously? C'mon, Lexi, you said yourself that he seems to be worked up over something," Mitchell pointed out.

"_Los__ inmortales__, _Mitchell. It could be anything. Stress of the infirmary."

"How do you know?"

Lexi stayed silent. Despite being friends with Will, she wasn't at the level of friendship that he had with Lou Ellen and Cecil. So he wouldn't confess what was stressing him to Lexi. But he had told her other things, such as his condition. Lexi was very trustworthy, with the aura of friendship rolling off of her. She could dig out anyone's secrets if she wanted to, but she would never dare abuse that power. Amelia did, however, and it bothered Lexi to no end. Amelia was nice enough, but she wasn't extremely trustworthy. Although, Lexi had to admit, it was nice to have someone else in the cabin that was asexual, even if Amelia wasn't aromantic.

"Ha! See? It could be a matter of the heart!"

"I'm not that good of a friend with Will. If you want to glean more information about it, I suggest Lou Ellen and Cecil. But the friendship bond that they share is very strong, so I highly doubt they'll spill Will's secrets to you."

"True," Drew added, looking up from her compact mirror. "But they might to you."

Lexi closed her book and silently cursed Drew with any Spanish curse she knew. "No. I refuse. I do not use the platonic powers that our mother has blessed me with for that sort of thing."

"What if it's necessary?"

"If he refuses to talk to anyone about what's stressing him and dances around the subject, even though it is obvious to everyone and their godly parent that he is stressed, then I will. But he is not right now."

Amelia raised her hand, the other one keeping her braid firmly together before she tied it up with a rubber band. "I'll do it!"

"_No, Amelia. Tu es muy incompetente y idiota." _**(A/N: You are very incompetent and idiotic.)**

"Um, Lexi, you slipped into Spanish."

Lexi smiled to herself. She loved insulting people in Spanish when they didn't speak the language, she could call them a "fucking son of an asshole god who can't count to two" and say that it meant something completely different. "I said that you are not well-suited for this job. Will hardly knows you, and you know that you have to form a bond with the person in order for it to work. I highly doubt that I have enough power currently, and I know him much better than you do."

"But with time-" Amelia protested.

"No. Not at all. That's final."

Amelia pouted, then went back to her hair. Lacy sighed.

"You don't have to shoot her down like that, Lexi. She just wants to help."

"What, by invading someone's privacy and spilling their secrets? She does that enough already. She needs to control it."

"I'm right here!" Amelia piped up.

"I'm aware," Lexi retorted. "And I hope that by listening to this conversation, you learn a thing or two."

"Oh, you're nice," Amelia sneered.

"Thank you, I try."

"Quit fighting! You're giving me a headache!" Drew complained, charmspeak lacing her voice, so that Amelia and Lexi both closed their mouths. The rest of the cabin was staring at them.

"Well, Lexi, if you say that we shouldn't interrogate Will, then what _do _you suggest?"

Lexi glared at Paul, who shrugged. "What? Just saying."

"How about leaving them alone? Letting them do things on their own? You guys are stressing their friendship enough at is."

Paul blinked. "We are?"

"Constantly harassing them about being more than friends? Stalking them? Setting up weird scenarios so you can get them together? I'm surprised they haven't had a huge argument over this yet," Lexi snorted.

"Oh."

The entire cabin was silent as everyone processed this information, and Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. She was certain that the friendship of Will and Nico was stretched enough as it was.

Then Lacy perked up, as though she just had an idea. "Jealousy."

Everyone stared. _"¿Perdon?" _Lexi finally asked.

"Jealousy! We get one of them jealous, and they have to tell the other one why they're jealous! It's perfect!"

Lexi let loose a string of cuss words in Spanish and hit her forehead with her book. In other areas of the room, she heard a few other groans-other children of Aphrodite starting to tire of this. But the majority of the cabin seemed to agree with Lacy.

"Yeah, but how?" Paul asked.

"What other way is there besides someone flirting with them?" Lacy grinned. "The real question is, who shall be the flirter, and who the flirtee?"

"Nico gets flirted with," almost everyone chorused. Lexi was on the verge of telling them to go pester Will in the infirmary so that he would inject them with Greek fire. She was practically the only Aphrodite child allowed in there now, and even then only because she needed her medication.

"Okay, but who flirts with him?"

The straight boys of the cabin shook their heads. Mitchell looked terrified. "Will would punch me, because he knows that Jake and I are going out, and he's friends with Jake."

There was much discussion in the cabin, which included a heated round of Rock-Paper-Sword and Lexi throwing her book at Paul, until Drew snapped, "Gods, none of you can do this right!"

"How about you go, Drew?" someone suggested. Lexi's eyes widened. Oh, no. This was either going to turn out badly or hilarious.

Drew spluttered. "I-what-"

"Yeah, Drew! You go!" someone else agreed. "You said it yourself that none of us can do this right!"

Drew opened her mouth as to argue, but closed it and sighed, defeated. "Yeah. Fine. I'll flirt with the stupid son of Hades."

A loud cheer went up, until Drew shouted, "AND DON'T THINK YOU'LL GET AWAY WITH THIS!" The cabin quieted, but a few giggles still went around. Drew stood up and walked over to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Lexi sighed. "You're all idiots."

"We're getting this on tape," Mitchell promised.

"Correction: You're all slightly idiotic."

***The linebreak of me hardcore singing "The Mother We Share" by CHVRCHES in the middle of the night even though I'm barely sentient enough to type***

"Hey, is it filming?"

"Yes! Now, shh! I don't want to hear that on tape!"

Lexi stood behind a large video camera, which was currently being held by Travis Stoll. Lacy had suggested getting the Stolls to help-well, she had suggested Connor specifically, but you can't have one Stoll without the other-and it was working okay so far. Lacy stood next to Connor, who didn't seem to mind the small intrusion of his private space as he told off Paul for talking while the camera was rolling. Mitchell also stood nearby, as did Amelia. The rest of the cabin was hidden somewhere nearby, probably with video cameras of their own to document this historic event. They were all positioned around the training arena, where Nico was finishing up his sword-training class. Will's shift ended around the same time that the class did, and everyone knew that he usually walked over to see Nico afterwards. Perfect timing, perfect spot, perfect everything. This was definitely going down in Camp Half-Blood history.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!"

Travis snickered. "Brother dearest, you know that he can't help himself. After all, this is quite the hilarious event."

"Yes, now shut up!" Connor cleared his throat and spoke up in a louder voice than the whisper he had been using before. "To anyone watching this tape who was not present at the original event-Welcome! You really missed out."

Lacy giggled. Connor didn't tell her to shut up, though, and Mitchell gave Connor a weird look for it. Hmm. Perhaps there was more love drama going on in the camp than just Will and Nico, Lexi realized.

"Anyways, what's happening is that Drew Tanaka, who was voted as Most Likely to Star in the third Mean Girls Movie as a Mean Girl When They Make One, is gonna flirt with Nico di Angelo, who was voted Most Likely to Scare Off a Dementor Which Just One Look. Why is that? Well, the entire camp wants Nico to get together with Will Solace, who was voted Most Likely to Become a Flagpole. So far, we haven't had much success. Gods, what attempt is this to get them together? Number…"

"Number ninety-two!" Paul piped up.

"Yes, ninety-two. Good man, Paul. Good man. So this is the ninety-second attempt to get them together-good gods, that's a lot-and we certainly hope that it will be the last. If not…well, we've got some other tricks up our sleeves."

"So we hoped that we've summarized these events good enough for you! Anyways, we gotta be quiet, the class should ending…now."

The doors to the arena swung open, and several campers walked out, mostly Ares campers, but a few others. Nico walked out next to Percy, and they seemed to be having a heated discussion, what with both of them gesturing wildly. Lexi couldn't catch what they were saying over the noise the other campers were making, but she was able to hear Percy's cheery, "Bye, Nico!" as he jogged off in the direction of the lake. Nico waved goodbye as well, and started trudging in the direction of his cabin.

Travis whistled. "Cue Mean Girls runner-up."

Drew sauntered across the green towards Nico, casually swiping her tube of lip gloss over her lips. As she passed by, a few boys turned to stop and stare, as did a few girls. Lexi saw Alex Smith from Apollo get elbowed roughly by zher girlfriend, Laura Kingston from Demeter.

"Hey, Nico!" Drew smiled widely at the son of Hades, who gave her a weird look.

"Uh…hey?" he asked.

Paul was already snickering, and Travis zoomed in with the camera. Unfortunately, the camera zoomed in on Nico's butt, and Travis whispered, "That ass…" Mitchell clamped a hand over his mouth as he silently shook with laughter, and even Lexi had to suppress her laughs. Lacy was already giggling like crazy. Lexi made a mental note to never let Drew or Nico see this.

"So, I was wondering, are you busy after dinner tonight? Because I've-"

"Drew, I am not a heterosexual."

Drew froze. "I…uh…"

"Besides, aren't you part of the movement trying to get me and Will together?"

Mitchell and Connor high-fived, while Travis grinned and Paul whispered, "She's gonna need Elsa for that burn."

"Well…I…uh…"

"Hey, Nico!"

"And there's Replacement Flagpole himself," Connor announced.

Will had walked up behind Drew, and his voice caused her to jump into the air and squeal. Will frowned as he noticed Drew's presence and Nico's annoyed expression. "Is everything alright?"

"I, um, was just going!" Drew bolted, running faster than Lexi thought someone could ever run in low wedges.

Will stared after her. "What was that all about?"

Nico shrugged. "I have no idea."

Travis stopped filming at that point, and they all collapsed into laughter. Travis stood upright so he wouldn't hurt the camera, but he was on the verge of falling. Connor sank down to his knees as he whooped, and Lacy had to lean against a wall. Mitchell and Paul were rolling on the ground with laughter, and Lexi had to sit and hold her stomach.

By the time they had stopped laughing, Connor said weakly, "Well, I guess it's time to get this tape ready, so we can sell copies of it."

"I want two!" Lexi said, smiling brilliantly.

Lexi still didn't entirely approve of the effort to get Will and Nico together, of course. And she was still concerned about what was bothering Will. But hey, she got a good laugh and her former cabin counselor got humiliated. What's not to like?

* * *

**Guess who is now the proud owner of a hardcover copy of "The Blood of Olympus?"**

**This boy right here.**

**Awww yissss.**

**Being genderfluid is so cool because like some days I'm like "yes girls are cool im gonna be a girl today" but then some I'm like "boys are really cool im gonna be male today yes" and then some I'm even like "non-binary is the way to go and I am going that way"**

**Also I got some new music and am currently rocking out to "Raise Your Glass" and "Not In Love" is next followed by "All About That Bass" woo**

**What can I say music drives my soul**

**And little contest thing! I'm looking for a cover for this story! If you read my review replies, I was talking with rainbowchameleon, who imagined Hades with a machete standing behind Apollo (who was wearing a Solangelo shirt). If you can draw that, or anything else relating to Solangelo that is funny, please do so! I'll also announce this contest on tumblr!**

**First place-will be the cover of this story, get a chapter dedication, and get to appear as a minor character!**

**Second place-be the back-up cover art, get a chapter dedication, and get to appear as a minor character!**

**Third place-be the back-up for the back-up cover art, get a chapter dedication, and get to appear as a minor character!**

**Honorable mentions- get chapter dedications!**

**Please submit art to my tumblr, gamzee-makaraoni, by Friday, November 21****st****, 2014! I will announce the winners on Sunday, November 23****rd****, 2014!**

**Good luck to all who entered! And don't forget to tell me your favorite lines!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	14. Chapter 14: Seeing Double

**In my mini-hiatus, I finally learned where the Slim Shady joke originated. It wasn't what I was expected. I thought it was a line from a movie. Wow.**

**I apologize for the late update. School acted up, as did my cold, which fortunately I'm getting over. Also me dicking around on my limited Internet at home (Google and YouTube), because I had writer's block. Let me just say there's no version of the English dub for Ouran High School Club Episode 14 anywhere on YouTube, you can listen to every Marina and the Diamonds song in one sitting, there's a downloadable version of the "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" song (that should probably not be an accomplishment for me), and Karkat and Nepeta will always cause me physical pain since they will never get together and they were my first ever ship that I properly called an OTP. And then my school Wi-Fi blew out, backing up some of my assignments. Bleah. Have this long chapter to make up for it. It was meant to be shorter, but with no chance to update, I added to it whenever I could.**

**Also people want to know what genderfluid means so I'll tell you:**

**Okay, so obviously transgender is when you identify as the opposite gender you were born as. Non-binary is when you identify as neither gender, and genderqueer is when you identify as both genders.**

**Genderfluid is sorta like genderqueer, but not really. It's when you identify as one gender one day and identify as another the next. For example, when I uploaded the previous chapter, I was identifying as male, but now I identify as non-binary.**

**So, that's basically my definition, you can look up more about it. I don't really care if you guys call me a girl or whatever in your reviews, though.**

**REVIEWS**

**MegglesGG: Omg it is beautiful lol. And they are all so fabulous (except for Drew maybe but eh)**

**FallingNarwhals: I still can't get over your username tbh. I giggled insanely while writing that haha. I think I said not to do that but I hope you aren't in trouble now my goodness. Lexi will be joining the Justice League because of her asexual powers lol. And yes, friendship is a form of love! Yes he did I'm still mad. You named your fish Bubbles? Please tell me that's a Finding Nemo reference. You do that. And hair is everywhere. We are literally hair.**

**CHBcamper52: Here it is! I'll look up that parody, I love parodies.**

**Green angel01: Don't fall off beds, look what happened to the monkeys that fell off the bed. They bumped their heads. And thanks!**

**Ink2parchment: I explained it above. And I will keep updating!**

**Rainbowchameleon: I hope someone does omg. And I explained it above!**

**Kari McCartney: I use that line all the time actually. Nico shut downs anyone that tries to flirt with him besides Will. Ooh, yeah, sorry. I'm learning Spanish actually, but I forget about "eres" God dang it. Also my computer is a butt about accent marks. And I do not trust Google Translate at all. Also that ass had me like *faints*.**

**TMRisLifeNewtmas4Ever: Answering in chapter order. *squeals and hides under bed* omg stop saying im amazing you guysss im not. Yes that is a Cinder reference ay. Don't try to hug Will he pushes you away. Unless if you're Nico that's hugging him. And I'm sorry not sorry for the Doctor Who references. Speaking of which I finished the season premiere. I still can't believe Santa Claus interrupted my tears over Danny, although it was nice to see the Brigadier again, despite him being a Cyberman. **

**SilverDawn1313: Oh god that doesn't sound healthy. She got shot down faster than a Confederate fishing boat surrounded by the entire Union Navy.**

**CheetosPotato: I laughed when coming up with them lol.**

**Moonshroom420: It didn't really work, mostly because Will had no idea what just went down. Ah yes all the humility. All of it.**

**Just Random: Is "Random Review" next? Always review ASAP my love. Also try getting you shit together sooner that can't be a healthy time to do it at. Yes I'm working on representation of different genders and stuff, mostly so I can do it with my own characters. Is it this week? Well, seems like it was the appropriate time to write a Lexi POV! I'm actually working on a small one-shot for her, also one for Alex. I'm actually not sure why I wrote Mitchell/Jake, I'm more into Mitchell/Malcolm actually. Weird. And openness is good! Although I'm more open online than real life, I'm afraid. Percy was voted "Most Likely to Free Willy." Also I always ask "Do you need Else for that burn?" whenever I see someone get burned haha. Nico's butt is the greatest but only Will can have it. And I am in love with their words too. "I am not a heterosexual" was a reference to "Karkat, I am not a homosexual" and I am slightly frustrated that nobody got that ref. If I was Nico I would've just been like "FUCK YOUR ASS OFF TO YOUR SHITTY CABIN YOU GODLY PARENT FUCKER" or something like that. Everyone Loves Nico *theme for "Everyone Loves Raymond" plays in distance*. I hope that people participate in it! And I hope people draw that lol. Apollo would ask Will for tips no lie. (And yes parentheses). They'll probably be a thing sooner or later, it depends on when I can find a good moment to shove them in a closet-wait. Chapter 17. Chapter 17 gives me a good opportunity.**

**WingedShadowGirl65: Nico never falls for anything. Never.**

**LOSTcharlie-claireLOST: *screams and hides under bed again* WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THE BEST STORY HOW IS IT THE BEST JROIAJRF, IOQJTFIO (also someone is joining the art competition yay!)**

**Hikarumeaningradiance: No lie, your username reminds me of Ouran High School Host Club. Speaking of which, I need to finish that. Nico is more fabulous than anyone else.**

**Sharpay: I TAKE OFFENSE**

**Me: You wanted to break up Troy and Gabriella you have no right to speak. **

**And I'm glad you love it!**

**7AnonymousPython7: So does mine, but I opened up an ask blog anyways *laughs*. That entire scene was a reference to a Homestuck line and so far nobody's got it so I'm slightly mad. And as of now my favorite song is "Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay! It is literally my Solangelo jam woo.**

**Guest: Thank you! They'd have to get Annabeth's approval first, which is always tough to do lol. And Nico would be so suspicious and Will would actually inject Percy with Greek fire lol.**

**Everythingpotterish: Thanks! Oh god yes sparring sessions and a locked infirmary must write. Hmm, I like the idea for the second one, but I already wrote a restaurant thing, so I'm not sure. However, I can't pass up an excuse to write Clarisse, so definitely the sparring one! I will! Also it's Solangelo, not Solanglio, jsyk. And Solangelo is love Solangelo is life.**

**Ball: No I'm life.**

**Shrek: You're wrong, I am.**

**Me: Solangelo is don't argue with me.**

**BalletBookworm: They're getting desperate.**

**MidnightEevee: Everyone is in love with that line lol. Nico was suspicious straight (well, gay, really) off the bat. I fear for what I shall do to Percy's health if I write him flirting with Nico. Chances are Will won't go easy on him, and Annabeth won't either. ASEXUAL APHRODITE KIDS ARE FOREVER *Lexi cheering in background***

**IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater: Once again, another person wants to marry that line. Lexi is one of the most amazing people I have ever created and I haven't even had kids yet (I haven't dated yet either). It was called "Main**** Tera**** Hero" (I had to look it up). It was funny but I was lost within the first five-to-fifteen seconds. Translations are always confusing. That's why we have Rosetta stone. Please do your homework falling behind is never fun. It ends with Friday 21****st**** (11:59 pm). And thank you!**

** .I.2000: What do you mean "Poor Drew." Nico is the point maker of history. And if they knew all hell would break loose.**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Thank you! Yes that line is Lexi in one sentence. Thanks!**

**Evarria: *panics* OH GOD IM SO SORRY HERE GO TAKE YOUR TWO SHOWERS AND YOUR NIGHT OF SLEEP RIGHT NOW I'M SO SORRY. Also ahhhh I'm glad that you love it and yes I shall keep up the "good" work lol. Yes those lines made me giggle when writing them lol.**

**ToneishaShipper: Why hello there. We all have those moments. GAY MITCHELL IS FOREVER YES. I saw that two and I accepted it SO HARD yes I have made you happy lol. I like my Drew a lot really. Poetry is awesome. I've actually written a few poems, if any of you guys wanna see them some time.**

**Chapter idea belongs to the theatrical ThisSentenceIsALie!**

**Disclaimer: Even Rick Riordan is not as cruel as I am.**

* * *

**C**hapter 14: Seeing Double

"You're all insane," Lexi muttered.

Paul rolled his eyes. He generally liked all of his half-siblings, but Lexi could be a pain at times. She ruined all the fun they were having trying to get Solangelo together. Sometimes he doubted whether her so-called "platonic powers" even existed.

"You weren't saying that when Drew got embarrassed," he whispered back, dark brown skin glinting in the moonlight.

"That was different. This is crazy."

The majority of the Aphrodite cabin was gathered outside the Apollo cabin. Only Piper was absent, as were some of the younger campers. Their mission? To create a Will doppelganger.

"Okay, so we're kidnapping Austin, right? He's the one that looks the most like Will?" Amelia asked loudly, only to be shushed by many of her siblings.

"Yes, we are! We'll just have to change some things, like hair length and skin color! Now, shut up!" Drew hissed, angrily waving a flashlight in the redhead's face. Amelia glowered at her, but said nothing.

"See? Insane."

"Lexi…"

"Shush!"

The charmspeak of Drew's voice shushed everyone that was gathered outside the bright yellow cabin. After a beat or two, she quietly asked, "Everyone know their parts?"

They all nodded. Drew smirked. "Perfect. Let's move on."

The door creaked slightly as it swung open, and everyone stopped, holding their breaths. But all they got in response were heavy snores. For all the energy that the cabin had during the day, they were some of the camp's heaviest sleepers at night. Which just made their plan all the more easier.

Paul acted first, followed by Lexi. He crept silently across the floor toward Alex's bunk. To be honest, this was the weirdest part of the plan. It would've been easier to just brief Alex during the day, but Drew insisted it had to be at night, right when they were kidnapping Austin, so that they could "kill two monsters with one sword." For what reason, he had no idea.

"Alex."

Breathing.

"Alex…"

A sigh, then a mumble that sounded suspiciously like "Laura…"

Paul raised an eyebrow and looked at Lexi, who was staring back at him with the same expression. He weren't sure if he wanted to know what Alex was dreaming about.

"Alex…" Lexi soothed, gently shaking zher. Alex groaned and rolled over, mumbling, "Turn off the lights…turn off the lights…turn on the show for me tonight…"

"Sleep-singing?!" Paul hissed.

"Why are you surprised?" Lexi whispered back.

Paul ignored her. "Alex…" he hissed. They couldn't risk waking anyone else in the cabin up. In the background, he heard his siblings subduing Austin, hopefully without injury.

Lexi sighed, then leaned towards Alex's ear and whispered a long string of Spanish words that made Paul wonder if he should know the translation of them. Knowing Lexi, probably not.

Alex's eyes opened, and zhe sat up groggily. "Wha-"

"_Silencio." _Lexi put her hand on Alex's mouth, and zhe opened zher eyes completely, before settling into a confused expression.

"Now," Lexi continued. "Before I remove my hand from your mouth, I must tell you a few things. _Uno: _I was put up to this by my cabin. _Dos: _You have a very important role to play. _Tres: _Austin will be humiliated. And _cuatro: _It may get Solangelo together."

A beast passed as Alex took it all in, hopefully, and then zhe said something, muffled by Lexi's hand.

Paul frowned. "What?"

Lexi removed her hand, and Alex breathed. "I said, 'I'm in.'"

"_Bueno. _Now, here's the plan: My cabin has decided to create a Will doppelganger to confess his feelings to Nico. They've decided that Austin looks the most like Will, and as you can see…" Lexi gestured her head back to where a group of Aphrodite campers were dragging a bound and gagged Austin out the door. Alex snickered.

"Boy, that'll be great to see. But where do I come in?" zhe asked.

"You have infirmary duty with Will tomorrow," Paul stepped in, grateful to take ahold of the situation again. "Your job is to distract him so that he's about…eh, fifteen, sixteen, twenty minutes late? He usually meets up with Nico after his shift, and we need enough time for our plan. You're the distraction."

"That's lovely," Alex muttered, then yawned. Zher eyes were beginning to shut close again. Honestly, Paul didn't know how the Apollo kids could be so tired at night. Then again, their dad was the god of the sun, and there was no sun at night. Perhaps it was the sun that gave them their boundless, cheerful energy. Was it like photosynthesis? Were Apollo kids secretly plants?

"We'll go now," Lexi said. "We're being summoned." Paul turned back to the door to see Mitchell mouthing cuss words at them and gesturing to the door, using a few hands gestures that would make Ares proud.

"Right. Just…let me…sleep…" No sooner had the words left Alex's mouth than zhe collapsed back into slumber with a snore. Lexi put a folded note at the foot of Alex's bed, just to be sure that Alex wouldn't forget the plan. To ensure that nobody else would know, Lexi had written the note in Spanish. Paul started walking to the door, and quiet footsteps behind him told him that Lexi followed.

"What took you so long?" Mitchell growled as they walked back to their cabin.

"Are you aware of how hard it is to wake up an Apollo child?" Paul complained.

"I don't know, Austin woke up pretty quick."

"That's because you wrapped his mouth with duct tape," Lexi said.

Mitchell sighed. "True, true."

The trio walked in silence for a few moments more, until Lexi spoke up. "So. Alex sees Laura in zher dreams. How-"

"Let's not talk about that," Paul interrupted.

"Agreed," Mitchell said.

Lexi rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything more.

When they got to the cabin, they walked in on the sight that was Amelia, Drew, and Tori Polito tossing Austin into a closet, while Otto Dansen covered Piper's ear with his hands. The head counselor could never know about the midnight escapades of her cabin. Never.

"Is that it?" Mitchell asked, and everyone nodded. He grinned. "Good. Now we sleep."

***The linebreak of Marina and the Diamonds songs***

Austin wasn't even properly awake yet, and already he was having a bad day.

He remembered exactly what had happened the night prior, mostly because he had barely caught a wink of sleep afterwards. Being bound and gagged while lying on a surprisingly carpeted closet floor didn't do any wonders for people wanting to sleep.

He had wondered for a moment why the closet was so big. The obvious answer was that it was one of the closets for the Aphrodite cabin, but there couldn't have been that many clothes. They all wore the standard Camp Half-Blood shirt (tank top, hoodie, whatever), and generally jeans and some denim shirts. Maybe this was where they stored all the Halloween costumes and fancy outfits for holidays? He didn't know. IT was so dark he could barely see a thing, save for the crack of light that was at the bottom of what he assumed was the door. Even then, that didn't provide much visual.

"She gone?"

"Yeah."

"This is still a bad idea."

"Shut up Lexi."

"When we get busted, I'm putting all the blame on you."

Austin's head jerked up at the sound of voices, his previous half-asleep daze melting away into the shadows. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful to hear voices or just plain scared. On one hand, voices meant he would be freed from his prison. On the other, it was the voices of Aphrodite children. The ones that had kidnapped him.

"Just shut up and get him out of the closet!" Snickers. "Oh, shut it, you immature children."

Austin started looking frantically around for a way out, even though he knew that there was none from his earlier poking around the closet. He was trapped.

The door swung open, and he looked back up at the people who held his fate in his hands.

Drew Tanaka stared down at him and giggled. "Hello, Austin," she sang, waggling her fingers at him playfully. "It's time for your makeover!"

Austin made a sound that could only be described as fear itself. And he had fought through two wars.

Amelia popped her red head through the door under Drew's arm. "Ooh! What's first?"

"Back, minion!" Drew shoved Amelia back, and the younger girl made an "oof" sound as she was pushed back. Austin winced in sympathy, before remembering that the girl, along with several others, had orchestrated his entire kidnapping hear. He felt less sympathetic afterwards.

More voices clamored from behind Drew, favoring Amelia's question.

"Yeah, Drew, what'll it be? Skin makeup?"

"How do we make him taller again?"

"Are we cutting his hair yet?"

"SHUT UP!" Drew bark, and the voices stopped instantly. Then she looked down at Will and smiled. It was not a sweet smile, no, not at all. It was a smile that only made Austin whimper in fear of the unknown horrors of the Aphrodite cabin.

"You all know that we have to decontaminate him first."

Austin wasn't terrified.

He was absolutely petrified.

***What is Austin's fate? Read past this linebreak to find out.***

Luckily enough, Apollo children tended to have very good memories, even when that memory had taken place in the dead of night after a very pleasant dream about a very delicious picnic with a very gorgeous girlfriend in a very colorful field of flowers near a very lovely lake that had been ruined by Lexi's rather unusual long string of Spanish curse words. And Alex was no exception. Lexi's note was unnecessary, even though it was quite fun to read. Alex now knew several insults to use on people that wouldn't understand a word zhe said. Lexi was great.

Alex knew zher role very well: Distract Will so that he was fifteen, sixteen, maybe even twenty minutes late to his usual meet-up spot with Nico after Will's infirmary duty. Alex just happened to have the same shift with him, which was why zhe had gotten caught up in the entire affair. To tell the truth, zhe was nearly as frantic as zher cabin had been when it had woken up to an empty bunk and a missing campfire sing-along leader, albeit for different reasons. The Aphrodite cabin could be very scary. But, mysteriously, Mr. D had told the cabin that Austin had to go home for a family emergency in the night, and they had just slept through it. Everyone seemed to buy it, since they all knew what heavy sleepers they were, but Alex could tell that some still had their suspicions. And it was obvious that Mr. D was in on it, since he had barely disguised his wink at zher right before he left the cabin. How the Aphrodite cabin had gotten him in on it, Alex suspected that zhe would never know. Probably part of one of his bets on Solangelo or something. The Aphrodite cabin was notorious for its blackmail, mostly because a few select members were surprisingly good at digging out secrets (re: Amelia and some rumor about Lexi). Alex had already learned zher lesson. But that is another story for another time, since it's like nearly 2:00 am and this paragraph is long as fuck already and I need to stop breaking the fourth wall and continue listening to Avril Lavigne holy shit.

So what was where Alex was now, standing in the back room of the infirmary at 2:57 pm, folding up towels as Will wiped down counters. Zher blonde sibling kept on glancing up apprehensively at the clock, obviously anxious to get out on time, as he always was when Alex had infirmary duty with him. At least as far as zhe was aware. Then again, it _was _Nico he was seeing. Alex loved Laura a lot, zhe did, but Nico had one of the finest asses zhe'd ever seen.

The problem was distracting Will. It wasn't the lack of things to distract him with, it was the number of things to distract him with. Nico, asking medical questions, Nico, opinion on Drew Tanaka, Nico, the Solangelo club, Nico, Connor and Lou Ellen's latest antics, Nico, Nico's hair, Nico's eyes, Nico's clothes, Nico's schedules, Nico's fine ass, Nico, Nico, Nico. Almost too many Nico's, in fact. Alex couldn't decide. But as the clock inched towards 2:58 pm, zhe knew zhe had to make a decision. And the moment the second hand hit the halfway mark between the number nine and the number ten, zhe did: all of them.

Alex was going to tease Will.

"So, Will…" Alex drawled, lazily draping a towel over zher arm. "You've been awfully quiet. Too quiet, in fact. Something on your mind? Or rather, some_one_?"

"Yeah, Austin," Will answered distractedly, looking up from his counter to glance at Alex. He hadn't picked up on zher tone at all. "Austin. I mean, leaving in the night like that, without at least telling any of us? Doesn't really sound like him, don't you think?"

Alex grumbled slightly. Clueless Will. "I was thinking that your thoughts were focusing on a some_thing _and a some_one. _Namely, Nico and his choice arse."

Will threw his towel down on the counter and groaned loudly. Ooh. Alex definitely had his attention now. Zhe just wasn't sure whether to continue with the teasing or just run like the Doors of Death had opened up right in front of zher and every type of monster imaginable was behind those doors. Zhe chose the more dangerous option, in favor of the club and zher girlfriend.

"Oh, you were? Hey, no need to hide your gay, man. You know that I'm not exactly a leading candidate to represent the Westboro Baptist Church, either."

"I know, I know. It's just..." Will sighed, obviously frustrated. "I'm tired of everyone trying to get us together. And Nico doesn't like it either."

"Yeah, some of the attempts to get you guys together as pretty extreme. But, you gotta admit, some were sorta clever."

"Wasn't there this one attempt about kicking a cow over a hot air balloon so it could shower us with grass?"

"And then those _really_ exotic ones."

Will laughed, and Alex stole a moment to glance up at the clock without Will noticing. Ten seconds to 3:01 pm. Zhe grinned to zherself. Finally. Will had been delayed, at least momentarily.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure some Hermes kid came up with that one."

"The question is which Stoll."

"Nah, I think Cecil is a more likely candidate for that one."

"Are you sure? Even though he may not seem like it, Chris has quite the humorous side to him."

"I know perfectly well that he does, you remember that prank around Christmas your first year here."

Alex shivered. "Oh, God, don't remind me."

Will shrugged. "Hey, it was actually kinda cool."

Alex didn't argue, zhe just made a face at Will, causing him to roll his eyes and chuckle at the newly turned fifteen-year-old's antics. He picked his towel back up. "Well, it _was _quite the memorable event," he added.

Alex sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. But still." Glancing back up at the clock, Alex was astonished to find that it was merely 3:03. What? How had so little time passed? Oh, gods of Olympus, Will couldn't see the clock! The entire plan would fall to pieces if he did! Panicking, Alex blurted out the first thing zhe could think of: "But seriously, were you thinking of Nico's butt?"

Will turned back around to glare at Alex. "It's not your business what I think about other people," he growled.

Alex raised an eyebrow. Oh, ho, ho! What was this? Will had danced around the question, instead of just outright denying it! Could Alex have simply struck a nerve, or had zhe stumbled onto something? Perhaps Will _did _like Nico, after all. Alex certainly hoped so. Although you'd think he would be in favor of the club, if it was getting him together with his crush. Unless if he thought Nico didn't like him that way…? Whatever the case was, Alex was going to confront Will head-on.

"That wasn't a denial I heard there, Head Counselor," Alex grinned, scootching closer to Will. "And you can't deny Nico's ass."

Will narrowed his uncannily green eyes at Alex. "I don't think Laura would like hearing you favor Nico's ass over hers."

Alex snorted. "She agrees with my view on Nico's butt, and she knows how much I appreciate hers."

"I think that's too much information."

"How so?"

"How else are you supposed to appreciate someone's butt?"

Alex made a face. "Oh, eugh, Will. We are _not _going there, not for a pretty long time. Plus…"

Alex hesitated. Zhe knew that Will knew part of Laura's abusive home life, but zhe never liked talking about Laura's life to others, even if they had to know for greater reasons than Alex's loyalty. It felt too intrusive, like Alex betrayed Laura with every word zhe spoke about it. But Will had been fundamental in helping Laura start recovering, and assigning her to a therapist that she could trust, one of Will and Alex's older siblings.

And Will could guess what Alex meant. He placed a hand reassuringly on zher shoulder. "Not ready?"

"Yeah. I'm just glad she's open enough to accept hugs and some kisses. I mean, I don't want to hurt her. Her mind when she first came here…" Alex winced, remembering the darkness zhe had felt when zhe had first touched Laura, the bruises, the cuts, the screaming. It was also part of the reason Alex wasn't always willing to touch Laura, or most other people. Alex hated hearing the screaming of minds or the sting of injuries whenever zhe touched someone's bare skin. Zhe was glad that Will had put his hand on zher shoulder, which was covered with the sleeve of zher t-shirt.

"Hey, it's okay. Laura's better now-a lot better!" Will reassured Alex. "And even if she's not completely, she will be, one day!"

"Thanks, Will, that meant a lot." Alex smiled softly at him, while his gaze flicked away from zher and settled on zher cheek. Alex did appreciate the support that Will offered, even if zhe knew that he couldn't always support his friends and family. They stayed quiet like that for a few seconds longer, and Alex could feel the air begin to grow tense. The moment was starting to get awkward, and Alex knew zhe had to break it. The clock was ticking towards 3:07 pm, and Alex needed to delay further. A minimum of fifteen minutes was what zhe had been given, and Alex had to stick to it.

"I honestly appreciate your support, Will, but you have to agree on Nico's butt."

"Wow, Alex, way to ruin the moment," Will drawled sarcastically. "Why are you so fixated on his butt?"

"No, I'm fixated on Laura's. The question is, Will, are _you_ focused on his butt?" Alex wagged zher finger next to zher head. Will crossed his eyes trying to follow it, but shook his head rapidly to clear it of the dizzy feeling.

"Uh, no, I believe that I am not."

"Ah, you _believe _that you are not, but are you _certain _that you are not? That is the question here, Will. Not Shakespeare's 'to be or not to be,' but you believing or you being certain."

"That's a disgrace to playwrights everywhere."

"The talents you inherited from our father lie not in the field of theatre, my dear William, but in the field of medicine."

"Alex, I cannot believe you."

"Just as you cannot believe that you are not fixated on Nico's butt."

"He is an entire person! He can be fixated on in other areas than his butt!"

Alex stared at Will, who squeaked and blushed, looking away. "D-Did I say that out loud?" he stammered.

Alex slowly shook zher head, breaking out into a grin. Will had just basically admitted that he liked Nico. He liked Nico! Alex jumped up and down a little, fighting down a squeal of joy. Zhe could hardly believe it!

"You like Nico! You like Nico!" Alex sang, pulling a series of terrible dance moves. Will scoffed and rolled his eyes, still bright red.

"Yay. You've figured it out. Congratulations, Alex," he snapped, clapping his hands together slowly.

Alex stopped doing the Sprinkler halfway through it to give Will a confused look. "What? I'm gonna keep this private, mind you. We don't need the Aphrodite cabin all over this." Of course, the Aphrodite cabin would murder Alex with fifty different types of makeup if they knew zhe had kept this a secret from them, but Alex could guess that Will wanted this to be a secret.

"I know, but…" Will grimaced and crossed his arms, glancing out the window.

Alex stood up, straightening zherself out. "What is it, big brother? Something wrong?"

"No, it's just…It's nothing."

Alex reached out a hand to touch Will on the shoulder, forgetting that the boy was touchy about being touched. "Hey, Will, if something's up-"

"_DON'T TOUCH ME!"_

Will slapped Alex's hand away, flooding zher with a sharp influx of a paper cut from yesterday on Will's left pinky and a menagerie of troubled feelings. Alex gasped, clutching zher hand. What…What was that? Sure, Alex was in the wrong for forgetting, but usually Will wasn't so angered at people touching him without permission. And the feelings…so troubled, so hard, so chock full of emotion…They were all enforced by a stronger power, a stronger emotion, but Alex hadn't touched him long enough to get a grasp on what that feeling was. Hatred? Love? Jealously? It almost felt like a mix of all those three.

"Will…" Alex trailed off. What was going on?

The anger had drained out of Will's face, leaving him with a shocked expression as he stared down at his hand, then at Alex, then his hand, then Alex again.

"Shit," he muttered. "Shit. Shit. Shit. I-I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to hurt you, Alex. Oh, gods, I'm so sorry, I screw everything up." He put his other hand on his mouth in shock, and Alex could hear him muttering something. Zhe couldn't hear all of the words, but some of them sounded suspiciously like "has" and "Percy." What? What did Percy have to do with anything?

"Will!" Alex held zher hands up. "Will, I'm not exactly sure what's got your panties in a twist, but it's okay! You're obviously stressed, I get that now, and I didn't realize it sooner. I should've asked before touching you, but I forgot, and it's my fault for forgetting. I swear not to talk to anyone about your crush on Nico, and nothing is your fault. I don't know what's stressing you out, but if you want to talk about it…I'm here."

Will breathed unsteadily, and blinked rapidly. "No. No, Alex. I-I think I'm fine now."

Alex knew better than to push him. Laura could get like this at times, and Will had done this in the past. "If you say so. But remember."

"Yeah…Yeah…Yeah, thanks Alex." Will waved zher off. "I'm fine now." He picked up a towel, as to continue his cleaning duties.

Alex frowned. Obviously, Will wasn't fine, and zhe had no idea why. And if Will was so stressed he would actually swing at zher, this was a problem. Zhe needed to talk to someone about this, and soon. Otherwise, he could blow up again, and with worse consequences. "Um, Will, have you seen the time?" zhe quipped. It was now 3:12 pm. About three minutes earlier than what Alex had been told, but Will didn't need to suffer any further.

Will's eyes just about bugged out of his head. "Shit! I'm twelve minutes late! Oh, Nico's gonna be so mad!" Will threw his hands up in the air in a panic, causing the towel in his hand to fly and drape itself on Alex's hand. The dark blonde shuddered and yanked it off of zher face, calling out, "Hey, Will!"

But he was gone.

Cursing, Alex threw the towel back over zher shoulder, barely pausing to listen for the wet slap of it hitting the floor. Zhe stomped out of the room. Zhe had a crazy tall blonde flagpole of a half-brother to find.

***The search for Will continues, right after this linebreak!***

"Alex?" What's wrong?"

Alex looked up and grinned when zhe saw that Laura had fallen in step beside zher. "Hey, babe. You wouldn't have happened to see my crazy flagpole of a brother around, would you?"

Laura frowned, her long black braids swinging at her shoulders. "Which one?"

"Will."

"Oh, yes, he was heading towards the arena."

"Thanks a lot!"

"Does this have anything to do with what Lexi wanted you to do?"

Alex grinned even wider, if possible. Being around Laura just made her grin uncontrollably. "Yes, actually. He ran off when he realized he was late, and I'm not missing the show. Wanna see it?"

Laura offered Alex a small smile. "Sure?"

Alex had to stop zherself from kissing Laura right there and then. She was just so cute when she smiled! Her perfect white teeth complimented her deep dark brown skin beautifully. To Alex, everything about Laura was just beautiful. "Great!" Then zhe held out zher hand. "Would you like to take my hand?"

Laura slipped her hand in Alex's with nary a second thought, and Alex's heart beat so fast zhe thought it would burst. Laura was definitely getting better, and Alex was glad to see it!

"C'mon!" zhe cried, and together they ran towards the arena.

When they got there, it was to a very amusing sight: Will chasing around someone that looked quite a lot like him, Lexi was facepalming, Nico was holding his sword up at a panicked Drew's throat while Amelia stared open-mouthed at them, Paul and Mitchell helped Travis Stoll with a large camera, and Connor and Lacy chattered away, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Laura and Alex stared at the scene in front of them, until Laura said, "Amazing."

"Agreed."

Silence, except for Will's cursing in Ancient Greek and Austin's pleas for mercy.

"How did this even happen?"

"I'm not sure that we want to know, Laura."

* * *

**Homestuck Monologues Shadocon with Nepeta and Karkat more like "aww omg is Karkat gonna say he's flushed for Nepeta omg is he describing her wait HOLD THE FUCK UP WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THAT OH MY GOD IM ACTUALLY CRYING OH MY GOD NEPETAAAAA okay okay close the tab close the tab okay listen to music okay what song was I on hmm idk I'll just click play oh it's starring role OH MY GOD STARRING ROLE THIS DOES NOT HELP ME AT ALL OH MY GOOOOOOD" and me crying at 1:17 am over my universal OTP. Then I clicked on a Karkat/Nepeta video that had the song "Starring Role" in it and cried some more. If you haven't noticed I'm not very good at taking care of my health.**

**And Will's starting to get pretty stressed! When will things be set straight? Well, gay, but you all know what I mean.**

**Also, Alex's powers are sensing someone's injuries, both mental and physical, whenever zhe touches their bare skin, be it them touching zher or zher touching them. Other than that, zher powers are generally spread out in the other areas associated with Apollo, such as archery or singing or poetry or whatnot. I know, I know. I need to stop coming up with such awesome powers.**

**Happy early Thanksgiving to my American readers! My dad's mom and her second husband (my dad's parents are divorced) will be coming over this weekend. I haven't seen her in a few years, so yeah!**

**Speaking of which, I have no idea if I'll be able to update next week, since my computer is disconnected from the Wi-Fi at home, which sucks. So is my phone. At least my friend lets me use her Wi-Fi, and she lives right down the street. I'll be writing like crazy though. I plan to set aside an entire day so I can plan out my story that revolves around Nico. There's also another story linked to that one that I have to plan too.**

**Also, real talk about updates: They might not come next week, and I'm not even entirely sure how often I'll be updating this this week. I'm still fighting off a nasty cold, and need to rest often. Best chances another update will be out by tomorrow, but my computer's being weird. I'll try to be back in the game come December, however. December will also be the month we finally see Solangelo get together! So the story will be ending around then. Any last-minute requests for me to write next week? I'm surprised I haven't got any involving Thalia and the Hunters. I've actually been looking forward to writing one involving them but I can't think of a scenario involving them as of now lol. I think Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu mentioned an idea, but I'm not sure. Geez, I don't think I've heard from them in a while. Are they okay?**

**One last serious babble: I'll be getting my ADHD medicine later today, and my parents want me to start it next week. Will it affect my writing? I have no idea. I hope not, I actually sorta like the way I write. Surprising, I know, when I hate so much about myself already lol. Chances are my lines won't be quite as randomly humorous. Also maybe shorter author notes? Oh wow this is weird. I hope the medicine doesn't affect my personality. Chances are it may just make my OCD flare up. Can you imagine me actually having everything organized, instead of just a few things? Neither can I.**

**CAUSE YOU'RE A SKY**

**CAUSE YOU'RE A SKY**

**FULL OF STARS…**

"**Sky Full of Stars" more like SOLANGELO**

"**Starring Role" would probably be Percy and Nico lol. I don't even know if I ship them because theres Percabeth and Solangelo though. However I do ship Nico/Percy/Annabeth and I'm not sure why I just polyamorous lovers okay (Also because I want happy Nico and Percabeth so combine the two and you get Nicercabeth woo) (And I may or may not be writing a songfic about Nico using "Starring Role" cough cough)**

**Bluh I can't stop coughing though I'm afraid that I might accidentally cough so hard I throw up**

**Also keep sending in your favorite lines and the contest ends tomorrow you guys lol**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	15. Chapter 15: A Stable Relationship

**Finally, the review count is higher than the follower count. I have waited long for this moment.**

**ALSO I WENT TO HOT TOPIC LOOKING FOR A HOMESTUCK SHIRT AND JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T FIND ANY I FOUND ONE AND IM DYING OF HAPPINESS OH MY GOD DJUDHVNYEUGNFAGEI**

**So I got my ADHD medicine, which I'll be starting tomorrow. I also got a shot, ugh. I hate shots, last time I had to get shots I actually cried. At least I got a Frozen sticker for my valiant efforts. And a lot more music. Also I'm going to the mall later, and I'm getting books woo-hoo. Even though this was a pain to write, with my right shoulder aching from the shot and me being right-handed so my left hand is weak. At least I see my grandma and her second husband later today.**

**Last day for the contest! Please submit submissions to me via my tumblr, gamzee-makaraoni, or PM me links!**

**And I apologize for all the butts last chapter, this one I tried to keep as butt-free as possible. What can I say, butts fascinate me.**

…

**That came out wrong.**

**Spiesareawesome: Apollo kids are plants and nobody can tell me otherwise. And sorry for butts.**

**Rainbowchameleon: Characters confessing their love for other characters in the gayest way possible is **_**muy importante **_**to me.**

**LOSTcharlie-claireLOST: *squeals and hides under bed, blushing from compliments* ahhhh thanks! WAIT OH MY GOD I INSPIRED YOU TO DRAW ART NOT RELATED TO THE CONTEST? *more squealing***

**MegglesGG: WHAT ABOUT THAT CHAPTER? Oops gotta go water my Apollo kid plants *grabs watering can with the sun on it***

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Thank you! And if you were wondering if your question was offensive, no, it wasn't! I was born a girl, so expect period complaints in future chapters ugh.**

**Moonshroom420: POOR WILL CHILD *hugs Will***

**Will: NO YOU GET OFF ME *pushes me away* YOU CAUSED THIS**

**Me: POOR BUT HONEST, SAD BUT TRUE, BOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!**

**Will: Don't quote Schoolhouse Rock at me you shit**

**Me: I deserved that**

** .I.2000: *coughs* *coughs again* *coughs some more* *coughs really hard* *coughs super hard* *hacks* *wheezes* *coughs up hairball* *WHEEZES* Nobody knows who suggested it. Nobody. *coughs more* *coughs up blood* *coughs to death***

**7childofnyx: Ask Travis for the tape, he's selling copies of it.**

**SilverDawn1313: Everyone loves that line apparently. How do you wait patiently?**

**Guest 1 (the one that reviewed first): I was planning to have like a recap series of chapters of unwritten moments when the story ends, and Nico's talk with Austin will definitely be one of them.**

**A. : *memorial built for Austin despite him still being alive* Oh goodness, that's a lot of lines…Your town must be full of homosexuals then, since grass clippings are meant to symbolize gay love. No, your question is not offensive, and yes, Alex is non-binary. I got your submission, and holy Batmobile am I in LOVE with it. Although I'm sorry to get you so addicted to Tumblr now. Run while you still can. Ah yes I can totally see Nico being a bamf and taking Huntresses down and Will being a complete noob and tripping over his own two feet. And Thalia will always give shits about Solangelo. Always.**

**Evarria: I FORGOT I WROTE THAT I MEANT TO DELETE THAT AGH. And it won't be set gay until next month, unfortunately.**

**Guest 2 (the one that reviewed second): HEY LOOK MOM I'M SCARING PEOPLE. Nah, you don't need to worry *cough* not until around chapter 22 or so… *cough***

**Random Review: Do I keep on suggesting random guest names for you (Please let Random God be next)? Fun fact: I forgot where I wrote "Most Likely to Free Willy" and had to dig for it. Good thing I didn't have to go far. Percy would free Willy no lie. Follow my Tumblr for long enough and you will lol. Who doesn't? Oh my god M&amp;M that is just PERFECTION omg. Ah yes I can't wait to write chapter 16 and 17 but this one takes priority first. There's always discussions about Nico's butt, we just don't always hear them. Yes it was so forced Alex how dare you. I would hug Will and call him a cutie but he threatened to give me a shot the next time I do so. Also Nico glares at me every time I do *whimpers*. Sorry not sorry Austin. I don't know it was 2 am when I wrote that. Petition to make Alex and Laura canon characters please, Rick Riordan. I meant to delete that line but you like it so it's staying there now. And we could all be hallucinating our lives right now as a side effect of oxygen lol. I haven't seen much twisting, as far as I'm aware. Then again, I'm mostly reading Solangelo now (*whispers* please if you find any Thalia/Bianca fics tell me where they are so I can read them). NO OH MY GOD THALIA JUST SORTA INTERROGATING NICO AND NICO ACTING LIKE AN ANIME SCHOOLGIRL WITH A CRUSH I NEED THIS NOW DHPIHFCMHEWHAYU AHHHHH I am writing that YES YES YESSSSSSSSSS. Thank you, and happy early Thanksgiving to you too! I'll try to get better and have fun with family lol.**

**7AnonymousPython7: IKR I LOVE COLDPLAY AND MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS AND THE "SHOTS" SONG. Yes there will be more Laura at one point, although I'm still sorta developing her character lol. And thanks for the linebreak love! Nah, it sounds like a review. And being open is important, it can give others the courage to be open as well. And why you would respect me I have no idea.**

**Luv2readgirl: Yeah, most likely. Then again, I was looking for the dub, the sub messes me up because I'm reading one language and hearing another ugh.**

**ThisSentenceIsALie: I love that line lol. Omg stop calling me fabulous you guys Sharpay's getting jealous. Don't choke on giggles that sound painful. YE JAZZ HANDS *jazz hands get too jazzy and knock everything off* **

_**~How could this happen to me**_

_**Made my mistakes…~**_

**TreebuttonDemigod: OH MY GOD WHY AM I COMPLETING OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES WHEN I CAN'T EVEN COMPLETE MY OWN. Ahh thank you! I have a fascination with minor characters lol. Thank you, and I will keep writing! *cheers loudly***

**This is another idea from me, continuing a joke from like Chapter 7 or so. Dang, that's old.**

**Disclaimer: SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SH-SH-SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SH-SH-SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SH-SH-SHOTS EVE-RY-BO-DYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.**

**Does Rick Riordan randomly insert song lyrics for disclaimers?**

**Didn't think so.**

**C**hapter 15: A Stable Relationship

To be frank, Blackjack was a little surprised to be seeing _those two _in here.

He knew all about _those two, _mostly from Boss complaining about Annabeth's obsession with them, or him complaining about them not being together yet. Whatever the case was, Blackjack knew plenty about Nico di Angelo and Will Solace.

Nico still scared him. The aura of death rolling off of him wasn't as strong as it had been in previous encounters, but it still lingered. And the kid could death glare like nobody's business. Blackjack still shivered at the memories.

Will was different. He had lived pretty much his entire life in camp, so Blackjack knew him already. Hell, he'd even seen the kid around a few times. He was nice, even if he didn't really talk with the horses. Not that Blackjack minded. He was nice, but he didn't know him well.

Blackjack also knew that they tended to stay away from the stables. So why were they both busy cleaning up some of the empty stalls?

"Never. Switch. Duties. With. Poseidon. And. Zeus. Again," Nico panted, pausing a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow before continuing his shoveling of the old hay. Will merely grunted and dumped another shovelful into the wheelbarrow nearby.

Blackjack snorted and flicked his tail. Didn't these humans like each other? Where was the kissing thing that he caught Boss and Annabeth doing all the time? Humans were very strange creatures indeed. He snorted again, earning him a glare from Nico, but Blackjack didn't particularly care. Gods of Olympus, why were humans always so indecisive about their feelings like this?

"Will, see that black pegasus?"

Will squinted at Blackjack. "Yeah, what about it?"

Blackjack narrowed his eyes at them. _IT?!_

"It keeps on staring at us."

"Just ignore it."

"It's creepy! Horses and pegasi are creepy!"

Blackjack snorted again, and stamped his foot against the ground. How _dare _they disrespect him and his species like this?!

"Nico, don't be a baby. Just get through this."

Nico sighed. "Fine. Let's just finish." He picked up his shovel and continued with his shoveling.

Blackjack, however, was not letting go of his feelings anytime soon. It? Creepy? Disrespect to both pegasi _and _horses? No. He had had it with the son of Hades and his smart mouth.

Blackjack walked slowly across the stable floor towards the stall where the two humans worked, taking care to make as little noise as possible. They continued working and conversing, seemingly oblivious to Blackjack's approach. Perfect.

When he got to the door, Blackjack nudged his head with it, causing it to swing back into its original position where it closed off the stall. He smiled when he heard the _click _of the automatic lock and Nico's "Hey-" before walking off. He needed a quiet place to stew over his feelings.

***EYYYY LITTLE MAMA LET ME WHISPA IN YO EAR IMMA BOUT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU'D REALLY LIKE TO HEAR***

"Damn pegasi!" Nico cursed, kicking the stable door. "It locked us in!"

Will shoved his shoulder against the door again, to the same futile effort. "Maybe the wind just blew in a draft?" he suggested.

"What wind? There's virtually no wind in Camp Half-Blood."

"Eh, yeah. I guess you're right."

"Shut up, I'm always right."

Will laughed. "Whatever keeps your crown on, Princess."

"Wow, Will, I am so amused," Nico snapped, sarcasm filling up his voice. Will just laughed again, but the grin faded as he strained harder against the stable door.

After a few more minutes, they both gave up, panting. Nico kicked the door again, not caring that the impact made his foot throb.

"Don't worry, Death Head, I bet someone will come along soon. The stables are pretty popular, after all," Will assured him.

"Yeah, I bet," Nico grumbled. He put his back on the wooden stall's wall and slid down it to the floor, not caring about the hay anymore. Will was seated across from him in a similar position.

"So we'll just wait for someone to come by."

"And yell for help?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah, I guess.

"Perfect."

"The sarcasm is strong with this one."

"I'm not in the mood for Star Wars references right now, in case you haven't noticed."

"You're never in the mood."

"But Revenge of the Sith! How was _anyone _prepared for that?"

Will scratched his head. "You got me there."

"Exactly."

"It's like how you refused to talk about Harry Potter after Sirius died, and then again after Dumbledore, and _then _Dobby, Fred, Snape, and basically every death in the seventh book."

"Wasn't. _Prepared._"

Will laughed, and Nico smiled, before blushing and looking away. He liked making Will laugh-he had a very nice laugh, after all-but he was always a little embarrassed after doing so.

"Hey, Nico, there's no need to glare at the corner like that."

Nico looked up, his thoughts jarred by Will's sentence. "Hm?"

Will jerked his head towards where Nico had been looking. "You're glaring down the corner like it just insulted your favorite character."

"Oh."

A quiet air settled over the two after that, the one that was on the verge of awkward but not quite. Will shifted his position, clenching and unclenching his fists. Nico brought his knees up to his chest and put his arms on top of them, then his chin.

He knew something was bothering Will, but he avoided the subject like crazy. Whenever Nico tried to talk to him about it, the son of Apollo would jump to a different topic almost immediately. It frustrated Nico to no end, and he felt as though it was starting to drive a wedge in their relationship, which was bad enough when he had been crushing on Percy. Now that he had a crush on Will, he didn't want something like that happening again.

Nico had no idea what was driving Will insane, just that Lou Ellen and Cecil claimed to have no idea either. Nobody knew, which really got to Nico. He hoped Will wasn't depressed or anything, because that would have just been terrible. If Will had to go through that, Nico would personally strangle the Fates.

But lately, Nico was starting to get an idea about what it was. If Will wasn't talking to people about it, at least ones that Nico knew and could actively talk to if he wanted to, then it had something to do with Nico. What it was, he still had no idea. Only Jason knew that Nico liked Will, and he knew that Jason would never tell, lest he be breaking Nico's trust. So what could it be?

"Hey, Will?"

Will's eyes flickered up to reach Nico's, right before they settled on the wall on Nico's left side. He never made eye contact, which Nico found weird, but didn't really say anything about. Everyone had their ticks.

"Yeah?"

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by voices.

"Hey, get back here!"

Laughter. "You can't catch me."

"Don't you dare say that you're the motherfucking fox."

"You like 'Looking for Alaska,' I know you read it."

"There's such a thing as too many references, you know."

"I can give you something to reference~"

Nico stuck his finger in his mouth and gagged. Will's face was scrunched in a disgusted expression, probably similar to Nico's. The voices were familiar, but Nico didn't feel like placing them just yet. Plus, they were on the other side of the stables, although they seemed to be moving closer.

"Don't run so fast, I can't keep up!"

"Then run faster!"

"I'm not the child of Hermes here."

"Mm, yeah, I guess you're right."

"Do we ask them to get us out?" Nico whispered to Will.

Will nodded. "Let's wait until they're a little closer though."

Nico rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything more. Meanwhile, the voices drew closer."

"Stooooooooop."

"Make me."

"Oh, I'll make you stop, alright."

"Really? Show me how."

The voices were practically in front of the stall where Will and Nico were trapped now, and Nico felt like the temperature rose with each flirtatious word the two people spoke to each other.

"Here's how I'll stop you-"

That was when Will spoke up. "Hey, we hope we aren't interrupting anything, but we kinda got trapped in this stall by a pegasus, so if you could get us out, that'll be great."

There was a beat, and then a series of Chinese words that neither boy could translate, before the stall door clicked open.

Behind the door stood two girls. Nico recognized them both. Alianna Chen, daughter of Ares, and Emilia Rodriguez, daughter of Hermes. Alianna scoffed when she saw Nico and Will.

"How'd you get stuck in there? Made out too hard?" she asked.

"No, we were cleaning it when a pegasus walking by knocked the door closed, and we couldn't get out. And you two are ones to talk about making out," Will shot back.

Emilia blushed. "You heard that?"

"Every word."

"Not a word, otherwise you'll find land mines in your cabins when you wake up tomorrow morning," Alianna threatened, narrowing her eyes.

"We won't say anything." Nico mimed zipping his lips shut.

"Good. C'mon, Emi, let's find somewhere else to make out." Alianna started walking away, ignoring Emilia's flustered "Al-Alianna!"

Will snickered. "You might want to catch up with your girlfriend." Emilia didn't need to be told twice, as she ran up to the retreating Chinese girl and started yelling at her in Spanish.

After they left, the stable was peacefully quiet for a few minutes, until Will turned to Nico and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Oh. Nico had nearly forgotten his attempt to ask Will about what was bothering him. But now wasn't the time, he decided. "Nothing."

Will raised an eyebrow, and Nico mentally smacked himself when he remembered that Will could tell if he was lying or not. But Will didn't press him any further, thankfully, instead picking his shovel back up and telling Nico to get back to work, which Nico did. But Nico was definitely going to talk to Will about what was stressing him at some point. He made a mental note in his mind to talk to him some time either that week or the week after.

**A/N:**

**Eh, it's short again, but whatever. Next chapter will definitely be long though. And I'll be writing it during the break, along with a ton of other chapters, along with the plot for my two other fanfictions that I'm going to write. They're both connected, so I sorta have to write them together. They'll hopefully be up around the end of December, quite possibly. In the meantime, I'll be singing the "Shots" song.**

**I love how I get like a couple reviewers that review first chapter then never again, along with some that review every couple chapters or so, mostly when something goes down. And then you have the regulars, the every-chapter reviewers. Amazing.**

**Random discussion thing: Say Nico forgot to brush his teeth for a few days, and mentions it casually in a conversation, like "Oh, yeah, I haven't brushed my teeth since like last week or so." Would Will appear out of nowhere and shove a toothbrush down his throat?**

"**Are You Satisfied" IS OFFICIALLY THE NICO THEME SONG OKAY**

**I MEAN**

"**I WAS PULLING OUT MY HAIR**

**THE DAY I CUT THE DEAL**

**CHEMICALLY CALM**

**WAS I MEANT TO FEEL HAPPY"**

**AND**

"**AND IT'S MY PROBLEM**

**IF I HAVE NO FRIENDS**

**AND FEEL**

**I WANT**

**TO DIE"**

**Excuse my musical babblings but I am secretly a child of Apollo and that is why I babble about music.**

**Anyways, send in last minute art entries via tumblr (gamzee-makaraoni) or by PM-ing me a link to it if it's on another site, and leave me your favorite lines!**

**One last music babble: Whenever I write chapters for this story, I like listening to "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "What Hurts the Most" haha not sorry**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	16. Chapter 16: A Haiku About Pep Talks

**A KILLER GOT FREE BECAUSE HE WAS WHITE **

_**AGAIN**_

_**I WANT TO SOAK AMERICA IN GASOLINE AND TOSS A MATCH ON IT**_

**Anyways, sorry this is late, I didn't want to write the story until after I officially started my ADHD medication. I instead spent the time finishing season one of Supernatural and starting season two, although I must ask to those past season two: UM WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN THE FIRST EPISODE I MEAN THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THAT. I also finished my Christmas present for my friend, which basically took the entire day. It was only after I finished it **_**at midnight**_** did I realize Christmas was still a good month away, to which I just sighed, pushed a stack of books over, and flipped the bird to my computer screen. Fuck everything, basically. OH YEAH I WATCHED OVER THE GARDEN WALL AND EVERYONE MUST SEE IT LIKE **_**RIGHT NOW**_

**I went to the Science Museum, though, which makes me happy! I love it. They have this exhibit of dinosaur bones, and another of butterflies. I even saved a butterfly that flew out of the rainforest thing lol. Now I can officially write the first chapter of that Doctor Who fanfiction I had planned out a while ago involving museums…**

**Also whoa 20,000+ views thanks you guys! (It's secretly my goal for this story to get at least 420 reviews/favorites/follows/whatever because of the joke associated with 420 haha)**

**REVIEWS**

**Unicorns eat Llamas: OMG BESTIES ARE AMAZING BESTIES ARE ALWAYS THE BEST BESTIES I BE YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST BESTIES THAT EVER BESTIED. Also I'm glad that you love it! (Well she can see it if you put it in your review so…) And ttyl!**

**CheetosPotato: Blackjack says he's not "put up" to it, he'd just do anything for Boss. Yes, they will be. Take me with you, I wanna see what I write lol. But that could create a paradox so yeah.**

**Evarria: It's nice to see that I have at least one character's personality down pat. Also Blackjack is the shipping queen of Solangelo and none of you can tell me otherwise. Yes, unfortunately, you have to wait for next month for it all to be set gay. And everyone is already looking forward to it, I can tell.**

**Guest: Rachel is the president of the club. Reyna is vice president, while Nico called secretary and Calypso is treasurer. Annabeth is the club's sponsor. Percy's the mascot.**

**Rainbowchameleon: I have yet to meet someone prepared for Dobby's death. Same here, although they both did make me cry a little, more so in the movies than the books. I also sorta knew what would happen with TFIOS, I was just like "Oh he's dead? Well that explains those gifs on Tumblr."**

**SilverDawn1313: So do I, although distracting myself from this story isn't a good thing. Ah yes I could not resist that sweet pun.**

**HolydiAngelo: I think this is the first review I've gotten regarding my A/Ns as a whole, and can I just say that I'm glad it's positive. Thank you for the compliments on my representation! I believe that it is all important. Ha, I'm more open about things like that online than real life, though, so yeah. And if there was more of me in the world at least fifty countries would have been taken over. So far I'm tackling America. And thank you!**

**Willico: Yeah, you sorta had to. Sorry! At least I've gotten a TON written out. My break ends like December 1****st****, and I'm American, so yeah, I guess we do. I'm glad you love it! Ah yes Will and Nico are cuties. Also, speaking of holy Angelos, look at the name of the reviewer below yours.**

**Spiesareawesome: Plot twist this story is actually about Blackjack and not Solangelo AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.**

**MegglesGG: Fandom references are my thing yo. Ah yes Marina and the Diamonds is beautiful I've heard just about every song (except for a few that I am currently trying to find on YouTube). Yay I am a grasshopper now *chirps and hops away into the grass in the dark of the night*. No no more serious talk only silly talk now *shooshpaps you*. WILL AND NICO ARE BABES THAT MUST BE PROTECTED**

**Moonshroom420: I can never pass up a good pun like that lol.**

**I Am Shibuya's Computer: I STILL HAVENT SEEN IT BC I AM STILL PREPARING MYSELF DESPITE LIKING STAR WARS BASICALLY **_**MY ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE**_**. Blackjack is forevermore the best okay. I make everyone laugh apparently, I'll have to tell you guys this one story about this chick at my summer camp some time later. Remind me to do so. Omg thanks. And it suits him so much I s2g.**

**LOSTcharlie-claireLOST: Omg don't be shocked it could shock your heart and we'd have to get the defilibrator. DO NT CALL ME THE GOD OF SOLANGELO OMG *hides under bed squealing* Omg I'm sorry to have given you false hopes. BLACKJACK GETS ALL THE FOURS, ALL OF THEM.**

**Vriska: Just as well, I already have aaaaaaaall the eight's, anyways.**

**Me: And you can have them. I prefer thirteen anywho.**

**Blackberry Explosion: I WANT AN ENTIRE SERIES FROM BLACKJACK'S POV LIKE RIGHT NOW. AND DON'T DIE PLZ DATS BAD. I will drown you in a sea of rainbows lol. Omg I'm glad you like my OCs. Also, when they make the "Looking for Alaska" movie, do you think that they should include the song **_**"Chasing Cars?"**_** *wink wink nudge nudge* Hm, I wanna include more Solangelo club, but nobody's really sent in much lately regarding them. Strange. I actually need a few more chapters, otherwise we'll be seeing Chapter 22 in early December and Chapter 23 at Christmas, which is too far a gap. I like your suggestion, it actually fits in quite well with my plans for part 1 of the epilogue, so I'll put it there. Omg go to sleep you beautiful nerd you *puts you in bed***

**Hikarumeaningradiance: Fangirls are amazing, and so is the ff world. No omg I'm not that good there's better out there I swear. References are love references are life.**

**Shrek: No I am.**

**Me: NO**

**Anyways, back to your review *shoves Shrek out of the way* No friend you are not creepy Edward Cullen is. *Tamaki voice* Hikaru! Get back here! We have guests to entertain! Or are you Kaoru…HARUHIIIIIIII! WHICH ONE IS KAORU AND WHICH ONE IS HIKARUUUUUU!**

**A. : Well, I can get scared easily, but clowns don't bother me at all, sooo…Blackjack is amazing and so is that line. Omg autocorrect why. I agree with the McDonald's thing that is so canon. Although Thalia would be wondering why Nico actually agrees with Will lol.**

**Readeatcook: HEY I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN A WHILE BRUH. Oh yeah exams suck big time. Yes please leave a nice long review about known characters with Asperger's so I can be fans of all the things that they're from omg. Will honey you can poison Nico by shoving that toothpaste down his throat…**

**Will: WELL AT LEAST HIS POSION WILL BE MINTY CLEAN**

**Nico: *choking noises***

**I've already decided to make it a one-shot actually, which I will write at some point. It'll definitely have established Solangelo. ALSO BRUH WHAT IS YOUR URL/USERNAME SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: Sweet! Here's some advice: Lemon repels spiders.**

**DOA6: Schoolhouse Rock is the best okay. He would totally do that lol.**

**That Dam Guest: First off **_**perfect **_**username I am in love. Second off yes I will have to at some point. (Spoiler alert: The Hunters are coming in next chapter so Percy and Thalia and Grover will have to have a little "dam" reunion lol). You might want to get your computer an inhaler lol. It's the most popular headcanon I have so far actually lol. And Alex is non-binary, zhe/zher is a pronoun. There's a few others, like xe/xyr and whatnot. Oh, shit, I got so caught up in the homo, man, I'm sorry. Definitely gonna add some non-homo charries, Paul's one definitely. And I'm glad you love it lol!**

**Random Goddess: "That's So Random" next please bc "That's So Raven" was amazing (Yes you do don't lie). When I first read your review I had to put my kindle down and laugh for like twenty minutes omg. I am definitely including that in the one-shot! I write the most fabulous Will and **_**only **_**the most fabulous Will. I am in denial about every character death actually. Except for Homestuck, but that's because people die come back die again appear in the afterlife and then die in the afterlife usually. Everyone does make out in the stables, it makes for some awkward riding lessons (Haha don't worry me too unless if I'm the one making them or it's a fandom thing. Even then it took me literally **_**years **_**to get the dam jokes from the Titan's Curse. Then again, I didn't know any curse words back in fourth grade). SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR, NICO. Everyone appreciate my Blackjack please. Oh, wait…**_**everyone already does even though I have no idea why I mean why do any of you beautiful people even like this piece of crap that I like to call a barely coherent story holy fucking shit. **_**Dude I think the bonding might have actually killed everyone lol. You have a great Thanksgiving too, and I'll update whenever possible! (He says, fooling around online when he should be writing)**

**MukunaMatata: HAKUNA MATATA! WHAT A WONDERFUL PHRASE! Haha sorry not sorry. Ah yes my references are amazing. AND ILY TOO. Also thank you bunches!**

**IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater: IM SORRY THAT THE PUN WAS SO HARD TO GET AHHH. AND WE ALL ARE DENSE AT ONE POINT IN TIME OR ANOTHER. "DOCOT'S ORDERS" WILL SAYS AS HE NEARLY STRANGLES/POISONS NICO. I'm so sorry furriend have cookies instead *cookies fall upon you*. WHY WERE YOU IN SCHOOL FOR FOURTEEN HOURS THAT'S NOT HEALTHY. John Green references ftw. WE ARE ALL NICO REACTING TO CHARACTER DEATHS WHEN IT COMES TO CHARACTER DEATHS. Ah yes the headcanon is beautiful (COUGH best friends **_**with benefits **_**COUGH). WAIT IS MAGNUS CHASE SERIOUSLY TWO YEARS AFTER BLOOD OF OLYMPUS WTF. YES I GET THE GIST AND CAPS LOCK IS ONE OF MY MANY HUSBANDOS. **

**Will: At least Nico isn't one anymore.**

**Me: THAT WAS A PHASE I THOUGHT HE WAS STRAIGHT OKAY**

**Will: You're not straight either.**

**Me: I'm straighter than he could ever be though (pansexual)**

**Guest: That has already been addressed. But thank you anyways!**

**Lmb111514: Thanks! But be careful what you wish for…**

**The Timelord Empress: Me and my brother basically.**

**221BSuperWhoLocked: Haha your username I like it. OMG WHY YOU ALL LOVE THIS AND WAIT FOR UPDATES? I'm pretty sure some people didn't get it at first either lol. Omg why you guys keep on saying I'm an amazing writer that makes you all laugh is beyond me.**

**Chapter idea goes to the igneous Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu! (I don't know it starts with "I" plus rocks are badass like whoa) (Also I may or may not be running out of adjectives haha) (Send help plz)**

**WARNING: This chapter has some mentioning of sex, although it doesn't happen. I know I've danced around it in previous chapters, but this mentioning is a bit more extreme. Just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: I am actually really good at poetry, which is why Apollo's haikus are **_**slightly**_** better here than in canon. (At least, I **_**think**_** I'm good. I've never had that much feedback on my poems…)**

* * *

**C**hapter 16: A Haiku About Pep Talks

The next time that Will heard the chirping of a cell phone, he would literally fill as many syringe bottles as he could with Greek Fire and inject them into everyone he ever met that had a cell phone in their possession.

Border patrol for the tree was still going on, and Will, as a head counselor for a cabin, was roped into a late-night shift. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. He had Piper McLean as his partner (not in crime…hopefully), and she wasn't actually that bad for a daughter of Aphrodite. They spent the patrol either dozing off or making small talk, since nothing really happened at the 1am-to-2am Tuesday patrol. Except for that one time when an injured son of Demeter had run in, chased by a hellhound. Will had been able to care for his injuries while Piper laid waste to the huge demon dog. All in all, they weren't so bad of a team.

Unfortunately, Piper wasn't around. It was her father's birthday, and she was out of town for a few days, leaving her friends explicit instructions on what to do with Jason Grace while she was gone. Now, Will was happy that she got to hang out with her dad for a while-after all, he had barely even _heard _a single word from his _own _father in years-but her leaving meant a replacement had to be found from her cabin. Will had been fearing Drew, honestly. But now, he was sure that he might consider taking a whiny Drew complaining about her loss of "beauty sleep" than Paul rapidly texting his girlfriend every five seconds for the past twenty minutes.

"Can you not?" Will sighed again, earning him yet another glare from the son of Aphrodite. This must have been the, what, fifty-first glare? You'd think Aphrodite kids couldn't glare, but Paul could do it like nobody's business, like another black-haired boy Will knew…

"Dude, just leave me alone, okay? Besides, nothing ever happens in the middle of the night, anyways."

"Obviously you don't watch horror films."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "You? Watch horror films? Didn't see that one coming."

"There's a lot about me that you don't know."

"I have a girlfriend."

"I'm painfully aware of that, since you keep on texting her pretty much every _five seconds."_

"Well, of course! She responds every five seconds!"

"That's because she's in a different time zone-what time is it over in Oregon, anyways?"

"Um…" Paul counted back on his fingers. "Like…11 pm?"

"Precisely. You're keeping her up!"

"She's not gonna fall asleep for a while, anyways."

"Because you're keeping her up."

"Shut it, Will."

"You make me."

"I'll make you alright-"

"Oh, now who's coming on to whom?"

Will wasn't usually like this. Sure, he was usually sarcastic and witty, but now it was like he tried to pick a fight with almost everyone that he talked to. His cabin members had been avoiding him, afraid of him exploding all over them, Alex especially. Will couldn't blame zher. He supposed he must have been pretty scary during his episode in the infirmary where Alex had discovered his crush.

Then it was Cecil and Lou Ellen constantly asking him if he was okay with slightly strained smiles. Being his best friends, they could instantly tell something was up with him, but he wouldn't dare breathe a word about his Nico drama. Alex was the only one who knew about his crush, and he wasn't telling zher anything about Nico's crush on Percy, because zher would try to take matters into zher own hands, which would end quite messily. Jake was next, along with a few inquiries from his boyfriend, Mitchell, but Will just ignored them. Lexi asked next, and, despite how much he wanted to tell her, he wouldn't dare breathe a word to an Aphrodite child, even if he knew Lexi wasn't like an average daughter of Aphrodite. That, and he was wary of her powers.

But the worst of all was Nico. Will did everything he could to avoid talking about it with Nico. To tell the truth, he was hoping that the black-haired boy wouldn't notice. But, of course, they spent too much time together for him not to. So Will changed the subject every time, deflecting every question about it, or pretending that he hadn't heard. He felt as though as he was stretched tight, a rubber band just waiting to snap. He couldn't bring himself to tell anyone what stressed him out, dwelling on the possibilities of what could happen if he did, which in turn only stressed him out even more. So he had to find a way to release the stress by himself.

**(A/N: NO NOT LIKE THAT)**

And it appeared that the only way to do it was by taking it out on someone.

Will didn't go out of his way to pick fights. That was for Ares children. But lately he was snapping at almost everyone that tried to talk to him (The only exceptions so far seemed to be Nico, Chiron, and Mr. D). Anyone who noticed asked him what was up, not to go around picking fights with them, or simply who had spat in his orange juice. But Will wouldn't answer them. He didn't dare.

"Look, if it's a fight you want, not now, okay? Plus, you'd probably overpower me. Chill, man," Paul said.

Will realized he was glaring at Paul's phone, and shook his head to snap himself out of it. "Right, right. Sorry. Stuff."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "You wanna talk about it-"

"_No."_

Paul held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. Just don't hurt me."

A soft laugh came out of the shadows beyond the tree. Both boys jerked up, Paul fumbling with his phone and sword, Will's arrow nocked at the ready.

"Who's there?" Will barked out. "Show yourself!"

"Shit," the voice murmured, as though it was talking to itself. "Shouldn't have laughed."

"C-Come out where we can see you!" Paul stammered, legs shaking. Will rolled his eyes.

"Fine, don't get your drachma in a twist," the voice replied.

A figure shuffled out of the shadows into the moonlight. It was a middle-aged man, in a dark green hoodie. His sandy blonde-gray beard was thick and curly, streaked with dirt. His hood was up, covering his head, but not masking his bright blue eyes. The eyes sparkled with mischief, along with a hint of insanity.

Will lowered his arrow. "It's just some homeless guy, Paul."

Paul lowered his sword, nearly falling over with relief. "Right, right."

The man chuckled. "Lovely job you two are doing, protecting the place."

Will frowned. "How do you know?"

"Seriously? The swords? The arrows? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to talk to my son."

The man made a move to step across the borders, but Will stepped to the side to block him. The man raised an eyebrow, and moved the other way, but Will followed him. They countered each other like this for a while, until Paul remarked, "You two are making me busy."

"State your business, and who you are. At this close a range, I won't miss," Will threatened, raising the arrow back up.

The man rolled his eyes. "Well, if you insist." He raised his arms and began to recite a haiku.

"_Moonlight on the ground_

_My son blocks my way to camp_

_I am so awesome."_

"What?" Paul asked, confused. "That was terrible!"

But Will lowered the bow and arrow, staring at the man in shock. "D-Dad?!"

The man smirked, and his appearance changed, Gone was the beard, a clean-shaven chin replacing it. His hood fell back, revealing a head of golden curls. His eyes brightened to the color of the midday summer sky, and his skin darkened to a light brown tan. He even seemed to grow a few inches taller.

Apollo looked down at Will-that was weird, seeing how Will was just about six feet tall-and grinned. "Hey there, kiddo."

Paul looked from Will to Apollo, then back at Will and back at Apollo. "Wait, what?"

Apollo smirked and turned in Paul's direction, offering the boy a short bow. "Lord Phoebus Apollo, god of music, poetry, archery, truth, healing, and awesomeness, at your service." He straightened up and gave Paul a once-over. "Is it just me, or do sons of Aphrodite get hotter with each generation?"

Paul stared. "I'm sorry, since you're a god and all, but _what?!"_

Will groaned and facepalmed. Brilliant. He hadn't even been in his father's presence for two minutes yet, and already he was embarrassed. "Dad…"

The word felt foreign on Will's tongue, despite him saying it over and over again in his healing chants, his prayers at dinner, even his offerings. It may have been because he felt as though he was speaking to someone that wasn't listening. But now, with his dad in front of him? It was an entirely different experience, one that Will thought he might never experience.

"Hey, hey, hey. I get it, kiddo. Awkward to see your old man flirting with someone your age, right?" Apollo chuckled. Then his grin faded and he looked more serious. "But that's not what I'm here for, actually."

"Um-"

Apollo cut off Paul. "Hey there…Paul, right? Your mom says she likes your dedication to getting into the romance movie writing business."

"How…How does she know about it?"

"No idea. Anyways, off you go, back to your cabin! I need to talk with Will here." Apollo twirled his finger lazily, and a golden aura surrounded Paul, taking him back to his cabin with jerky movements. Will could hear Paul's cry of surprise and protest against it.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Apollo turned to Will with a grin. "Boys. You gotta love them."

Will frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Apollo gasped in overexaggerated shock. "What? No hello? No 'nice to see you, Dad?'"

"Nice to see you, Dad."

"Ah, that's better."

"So why are you here?"

Apollo tutted. "Did you not hear me before, Will? I wanted to have a talk with my son."

"Oh, so you've been too busy to talk before?"

The moment the words flew out of Will's mouth, he regretted them. Who knew what Apollo might do to him? He knew how vengeful his father could be, he had read just about every myth that involved him.

But Will wasn't expecting Apollo to look down at his feet, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, I…I guess I've been a bad dad, huh?"

"Thirteen years, and barely a word."

Apollo winced.

Will felt himself softening at the realization that, hey, maybe his dad felt bad for abandoning him in a camp full of older people at such a young age and then barely saying a word to him afterwards, but remembered that he had felt practically abandoned for over a decade, so he just frowned deeper.

"Look, I'm-I'm sorry, honestly. It's just…stuff. Not just mortal stuff. Godly stuff. And…"

"Yeah, you said this to me the last time we spoke-Second Titan War. Everyone was cleaning up, and you wanted to talk to me."

"_You remind me of your mother."_

"_Funny, I don't remember her."_

Will shook his head, scowling. No. Now wasn't the time for flashbacks.

"Let's not dwell on the past."

Suddenly, Apollo was standing next to Will, an arm slung casually around his shoulders. Will yelped. How had his father moved so fast?

Apollo thrust a hand out, as if to show Will something. "We must focus on the present, the here and now, and the future! We can't change the past, we know that. But what we do in the present will change the fu-"

"Don't touch me."

"Oops." As quickly as he had invaded Will's personal space, Apollo slide out of it. "Sorry. Got so caught up I forgot."

"I bet."

Apollo clapped his hands together. "So! I wanted to talk to you, son."

"About what?"

"You see, I've heard about your little troubles."

"Which ones?"

"Your little troubles with the son of Hades, of course!"

Will groaned. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"No, no, son. Chill. I just wanted to say that I am in full approval. Hades…not so sure."

"That's wonderful." Will crossed his arms and glanced around the area, being careful not to look anywhere near where his father was standing.

"Don't fret, son, I'm sure Aphrodite will make him see straight! Well, not so straight, in this case…" Apollo trailed off.

Will facepalmed. "Dad, I don't want every god on Mount Olympus up in my business," he said, voice slightly muffled by his hand.

"Not everyone is. A bunch of the minor gods don't care, and Hestia doesn't really either. Most of the gods only took an interest so they could place bets."

"Lovely."

"I wish they'd bet on me like that," Apollo grumbled, crossing his arms. "It's mostly 'how long will it take for him to get dumped.'"

"What, did you come down here to get tips?"

"No, I wanted to give _you _some."

Will did turn to stare at his father this time, being especially careful to avoid eye contact. "…I'm sorry?"

"Um, you see Will…" Apollo started tapping his fingers together nervously. "When two boys typically are in love with each other…"

"Uh-huh?"

"They like to spend time together a lot."

"Obviously."

"So sometimes they want to do things with each other…"

"I don't know where you're going with this."

"To tell the truth, me either."

"Lovely."

"Anyways, they start these things that they like to do with each other by kissing…"

Will's head tilted to the side. "What?"

"And then they start taking off each other's clothes-"

Will's eyes widened. Oh, god, he knew where his father was going with this, and he hoped that he wouldn't. "Dad-what-DAD-"

"And they'll keep on kissing while doing it-"

"DAD, NO, I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS-"

"And then when they're completely clothes-free-"

Will started flailing his arms about in his father's face, nearly knocking the god over. "DAD, I KNOW ALL THIS ALREADY!"

"Hang on, I'm not finished! So one of them goes under the other-"

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Will was about ready to strangle the god.

"Oh, wait, you know this already?"

Will sighed. "Yes, Dad. Just because I've lived in camp nearly all my life doesn't mean I'm ignorant."

"Oh, good!" Apollo grinned. "That clears up half of what I had planned!"

Will groaned again, massaging his temples. His father was starting to give him a headache.

"Everything alright, kiddo?" Apollo frowned. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No. You're giving me a headache," Will snapped.

"Sorry. Anyways, I have some more tips for you."

"Please don't let them be about sex."

"No, they're not. Although be glad that you were born after lube was invented."

"DAD!"

"_Lube is a great tool_

_It helps me-"_

"DAD, NO!" Will covered his ears. "LALALA I CAN'T HEAR THINGS I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY FATHER'S SEX LIFE LALALA!"

"That was the last time I'll talk about it, I swear."

"On the River Styx?"

Apollo grimaced and tilted his hand left and right. "Eh…"

Will wished that he wouldn't do that... "Great. Just…just continue so you can get out of here."

"Perfect! Okay, so, on tips on how to woo this di Angelo kid…"

"Oh, gods."

"Don't worry, they don't involve what I did with the girls. Girls are a different thing entirely to woo."

"That sounds wrong, but whatever. Just as long as there's no laurel trees involved."

"That was _one _time!"

"It's basically your most famous myth."

"Whatever. Oh, yeah, I made these tips into haikus."

Will promptly turned and hit his forehead against the tree. Peleus snorted in his sleep from the other side of it, but didn't do anything otherwise.

Apollo either didn't notice Will or chose to ignore him. "Okay, so rule number one, is that you gotta have fun, and baby when you're done-"

"Dad, that's a Marina and the Diamonds song."

"It's not my fault that my specialties keep overlapping!"

"Start with your _actual _tips."

"Okay, okay! So, haiku number one:

_When you're trying to_

_Pick up a guy don't let him_

_Near rocks, he'll jump off."_

Will felt his face twist into confusion. Okay. That was a new one. He couldn't recall a myth where his father made someone jump off a cliff, even though he was pretty sure he had at some point. "What myth was that?"

"Leucates. Jumped off a rock when I tried to spirit him into the sunset. Shame, though, his butt was amazing."

Will grimaced. "Urgh. Just go on."

"Second haiku, and you probably know this myth already:

_Do not get in a_

_Discus throwing contest for_

_Zephyrus will kill him."_

Yes, Will did know that one. "That was six syllables on the last line."

Apollo counted them out slowly on his fingers. "Ze…Phy….Rus…Will…Kill…Him. Oh, you're right."

"Of course I am."

"Haiku number three, probably heard this one too:

_Do not give him a_

_Deer for companionship, since_

_He will murder it."_

"The Cypress guy?"

"Cyparrissus," Apollo corrected. "Also had a great butt."

"_No, _Dad. Continue."

"Haiku number four:

_If he's killed by one_

_Of the Heracleidae, then_

_You must curse them all."_

"Who was that?"

"Carnus."

"Ah." Will had no idea who that was, and had no interest in finding out, either. Godly love lives were confusing.

"Haiku number five:

_If he asks you to_

_Prolong the life of his dad-_

Wait, no, di Angelo's the son of Hades, isn't he?"

Will sighed for the fifty-first time since the conversation had started. "Yes, Dad. He is."

"Ah, okay, so the haiku about Iapyx is irrelevant then. Okay, next one, then!"

Will silently prayed to the Fates to kill him now.

"Haiku number six:

_When you like a guy_

_And his name's Branchus, don't let_

_People think you're related."_

"Six syllables again. But what?"

"I don't know, Branchus and I were out one day and someone thought I was his dad, and it spiraled out of control from there."

Will didn't say anything. His head was beginning to throb again. "Is that all?"

"Nope, I've got like seven more."

"Oh, wonderful."

"Now, haiku number seven:

_When-"_

"Brother."

The voice seemed to reverberate across the entire hill, down into the valley where the campers laid asleep in their beds. The tone was powerful, serious, and the hair on the back of Will's neck prickled.

Apollo jumped about five thousand feet in the air, then turned to face the owner of the voice, quickly plastering a bright-yet-fake smile on his face. "Arty!"

The goddess that walked towards them radiated power as well. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a long braid that thwacked the backs of her knees as she walked. Her tunic was short and silvery, almost the same color as the quiver full of arrows slung on her back. Her eyes were lighter, but the cool steeliness in them didn't help. She frowned disapprovingly, deepening the closer she got.

"Apollo."

"Arty, my favorite twin sister! How are you?"

"I'm your only twin sister."

"Must you always focus on the details?"

"Father has discovered your absence."

Apollo winced, his fake grin replaced by a grimace. "Uh-oh."

Will snickered behind him. He couldn't help it. Apollo shot him a glare over his shoulder.

"Look, brother. Even your son laughs at your misfortune," Artemis pointed out.

Will laughed even harder. Artemis grabbed Apollo by his ear, causing the blonde god to "ow."

"Arty, please let go of my ear, Father's gonna cause me enough pain as it is already-"

"Hush, brother. We must go, before you torture your poor son further. I've heard enough of this "Solangelo" business from my hunters as it is."

Will stopped laughing. "The Hunters know?"

"Many of them have siblings in the camps. And word travels fast."

Will groaned and put his head in his hands. "That's fantastic. The Solangelo club must be thrilled," he muttered.

"You sure you alright, kiddo?"

Will lifted his head up to glare at his father. "Can you please stop with that?" he snapped.

Apollo tilted his head in the direction that Artemis was tugging his ear in. "Just wanna make sure you're happy. And that you really want to try a relationship with Nico. Y'know, typical dad stuff."

Will blinked. That wasn't really what he had been expecting. "Um, I guess?"

"Perfect."

Artemis started walking away, dragging Apollo along behind her, ignoring his protests of pain. "You're doing alright, I guess, kid," she called out over her shoulder.

Will blinked. "Um, thank you, Lady Artemis?"

"Don't I get a thanks?"

Will sighed. "Thank you, Dad."

"No problem, kid!"

"Before we go." Artemis stopped, and Apollo sighed in relief. She turned her head to look at Will. "You might want to tell Chiron to prepare the cabin."

"What?"

But Artemis and Apollo both started to glow, and Will was forced to turn his head. By the time he looked back, they were gone.

***The linebreak of me screaming after finishing "Over the Garden Wall" at 1am***

Nico flinched as Will stabbed another piece of bacon with his fork. The blonde had been moody all morning, even more so than Nico had grown used to these days. He had barely spoken a word than his gruff "hello" that morning.

Nico figured Will didn't feel like talking. Nico had some of those days too. Well, if Will didn't really feel like talking, Nico wasn't going to pressure him into talking. But that didn't stop him from worrying.

Their breakfast continued in silence like that for a while, until Will muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Why do people want to meet their godly parents so damn much?"

"What was that, Will?" Nico asked.

Will jerked his head up, looking surprised. "What?"

"You said something about meeting godly parents."

Will sat more upright, eyes widening as though he just injected himself with espresso, which didn't sound particularly healthy. "What? No I didn't!"

"You did."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"I did not!"

"Is this another secret you're gonna keep from me?"

Will stared at Nico (once again not in the eyes). "What?"

"Secrets. Something's been stressing you out for the past few weeks, ever since Halloween. Care telling me what it is?"

Normally, Nico wasn't so hellbent on dragging other's secrets out of them. He knew the feeling. But this could affect Will's health, he'd already become snappish with Cecil and Lou Ellen, not to mention several other people. And yet nobody knew what it was. Nico had even asked the Apollo cabin if they knew anything, and they all said that they didn't. Seeing how Apollo kids couldn't exactly lie, Nico had to take their word for it. Although Alex did look slightly guilty when zhe said zhe didn't know anything. But Nico wasn't really focused on that. He just wanted to make sure Will was okay.

Will glanced around the dining pavilion, tapping his fingers out on the table in the beat of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." It was a nervous tic of Will's to tap out a random song beat, even if he had barely any musical talent. Nico had first seen it during his three days in the infirmary, and noted that many other Apollo children seemed to do the same thing. Although the song choice was weird. He thought Will didn't like Taylor Swift.

"Well," Will sighed, and Nico sat up straighter. "There is this _one _thing."

"What is it?"

But when Will opened his mouth to speak, a loud, out-of-tune conch shell blow filled the air.

Campers squawked and yelped, many dropping their cups and silverware. The plates at the Hermes table went flying, as did the Aphrodite's silverware. Every Apollo child covered their ears and cringed, as did many of the other campers. Jason accidentally stabbed his hand with his fork, while Leo set Calypso's pancake on fire. A loud voice from the Ares cabin yelled, "WHAT THE FU-"

"Sorry, sorry! The conch shell's broken! Hasn't worked right since _somebody _used it!" Grover Underwood snapped, shaking the conch shell at fault violently while glaring in Leo's direction. Grover's girlfriend, Juniper, laughed beside him.

"I wanted to upgrade it!" Leo yelled back, awkwardly dumping his orange juice on Calypso's pancake. The daughter of Atlas lurched back, obviously trying to avoiding either catching fire, being splashed by orange juice, or her crazy boyfriend. Quite possibly all three.

"How do you even upgrade a conch sell? It's not mechanical!"

"Anything is mechanical if you try hard enough!"

"Leo, that's _possible, _not _mechanical."_

"Same difference, Jason."

"Just shut up and help me get this fork out of my hand."

"Why'd you blow the conch, Grover?" Someone from Nemesis yelled.

"Oh, yes." Grover cleared his throat. "I am pleased to announce that-"

"Don't bother, we'll introduce ourselves."

A girl in a silvery parka walked up behind Grover. She slung an arm casually around his shoulder and pulled her hood back with the other, revealing a girl's tanned freckled face with electric blue eyes and a silver circlet resting lopsided on her blue-and-black hair. Behind her, several other girls in parkas walked up. Some had their hoods up, others down. All had quivers of arrows strapped across their backs, along with matching bows. Some of them grinned and waved at the campers staring at them in awe, others just crossed their arms and rolled their eyes. A few younger girls stood there awkwardly.

Thalia Grace grinned at the slack-jawed demigods gathered in the dining pavilion. "Hellooooooo, Camp Half-Blood!"

* * *

**Yay, Hunters! I love Hunters, don't you? (Also I'm secretly Thalia/Bianca trash but don't tell anyone shh)**

**So I couldn't find anything about Will's backstory, and last year me and MrsEDarcy (I created a collab story with her last year) created one where Will's mom died when he was two and he's been in camp ever since, so I decided to go with that.**

**Fun fact: I originally forgot the word for "syringe" and had to call my friends. I'm going down the drain…**

**ALSO I FOUND A MULTI-FANDOM CRACK SHIPPING MEP ON YOUTUBE AND THE SECOND ONE WAS PERCY JACKSON AND JEAN KIRSTEIN FROM ATTACK ON TITAN IVE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE OMG**

**Just so you guys know, whenever I get a compliment in a review, the first time I read it I just sort of flail my arms and roll around making high-pitched whining noises. Which means I make my throat raw from squealing, which is sorta a weird feeling. Oh, look, I'm a poet. I can make rhymes, I know it! If I can't find another career, I'll make one in poetry-have no fear! A rhyme is really a simple thing. It's like pulling a kite attached to a string! You mix up the words with the similar endings, and then you concoct a few sentence-bendings! Sometimes words are created that weren't there before, but that's the fun of it, or it'll just be a chore! People say that it's boring but I know the truth: Poetry is fun, for our old and our youth! Don't listen to the lies that people like to tell, for they want to put you in their poetry-less hell.**

**Welp. I actually made a rhyming poem. To tell the truth, I'm a whole lot better at free verse than I am rhyming poems, although in May for the annual Theatre Banquet at my school everyone that was an eighth grader who was leaving wrote like a little letter. Me? I wrote a poem. Apparently I nearly made this one guy cry, and basically everyone else in the auditorium at that performance was in tears. It took a while to get organized again after that.**

**Also, remember that story contest thing I said I was entering a few chapters back?**

…

**Yeah.**

**I sort of…**

**Um…**

**Didn't.**

**The limit was too small for me to do much with, and plus I used one of my own more personal characters for this, and she's not straight, so I wasn't sure what the magazine would think of that. Also, the backstory alone for all of the characters would've taken up ten magazine contests alone, so it was just sorta confusing. I'll try entering their next contest, though. Maybe. Depends on what it is.**

**And finally, the big chunk of the author's note that you've all been waiting for!**

**The cover art contest winners! Unfortunately, I had only two entries, so there's no third place or honorable mentions, although IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater get a shout-out for wanting to enter but not finding the time.**

**Second place is the amazing A. ! Just so you know, her **_**first**_** story on this site involves the saving of the Oracle, a happy-go-lucky Apollo in a mortal disguise (poor Will), Aphrodite vouching for Solangelo over Percabeth (amazingly), and Will being so gay for Nico that I'm surprised my computer and phone doesn't erupt into rainbows every time I read the new chapters.**

**And first place is LOSTcharlie-claireLOST! Her Instagram is chock full of amazing posts! Please ask her for the name, however, it's not my place to give it out. I don't have Instagram, by the way. Just as well, I'd just post weird things of me at 2 in the morning, and I'm not a pretty sight at 2 in the morning.**

**I'll start dedicating the chapters next chapter, and don't forget that you two will be appearing as characters! So please let me know via PM what you want you as a character to be like. My only rule for the character thing is that no children of the Big Three or any other god that shouldn't have children. And if you want a romantic interest, either give me the name of a single minor character in the series, a character you have created, or just let me draw one up for you (please specify gender if so).**

**And keep on leaving your favorite lines! I love hearing them all!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**

**P.S. Also "Over the Garden Wall" more like "WHAT JUST HAPPENED WHAT IS THIS PLOT TWIST WHAT WHAAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT"**


	17. Chapter 17: Hunters Abound

**EDIT: Forgot that Phoebe was dead, so I edited it. A new chapter will be out soon! I'm just busy with school and final exams. Also a special Christmas thing I'm making for someone.**

**300 REVIEWS WTF ARE YOU GUYS OKAY I MADE THIS FIC FOR KICKS**

**REVIEWS**

**Cloudypelt: Chapter order response to reviews. OMG OMG OMG WHY DO I GET SO MUCH LOOOOVE *hides*. Aw that's okay you're not the only one. *squeaks and hides again* DUDE HAVE YOU SEEN THE ASK-OTGW BLOG BC IT'S HILARIOUS I LOVE IT. And nobody can wait. Nobody.**

**Icestorm238: Omg why I make people happy. SISTER AND BROTHER BONDS FTW *kicks chair in half* omg im so sorry chair. Will knew it wasn't good from the beginning, he just wasn't aware of **_**how **_**bad it would be. Omg I will thank you! *kawaii sparkle***

**TMRisLifeNewtmas4Ever: Ahahaha omg *hides bc compliments***

**Water-an'-Wisdom: AT CHRISTMAS THEY GET TOGETHER AT CHRISTMAS I PROMISE IT WILL BE MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU GUYS. I should make a sequel to this about the drama of their dating…"How Not to Mess With Your OTP." I can see it now. Omg I am so including it in the toothbrush one-shot I'm writing. And we're all pervs in our own ways. It turns out my friend has written bedroom scenes, speaking of which. This was surprising, seeing how she's a Catholic school girl and has never enrolled in public school all her life. Funny. Me? I do makeouts.**

**MegglesGG: HOW DO I LIIIIVE WITHOUT YOOOOUUUU…Will comparing people to Nico is the best. Yes Apollo and Artemis and Thalia and omg I'm glad to get you excited!**

**Rainbowchameleon: Which dirty haiku? Haha that's my response to everything basically. WHY IS THIS YOUR FAVORITE *hides under bed***

**Evarria: All praise Leo Valdez master of great lines. Omg thanks! Apollo is already the father to so many demigods but yeah! Also Artemis should be everyone's awesome aunt. Thalia is about to ship it, 99.99% of the Hunters do already (that 0.01% is Thalia). So close yet so far Will. I'll try to add it in! I don't really want to flood people with too many diseases, also I don't want to stereotype.**

**Lmb111514: Yay hunters! Poor Will though.**

**Will: You still can't hug me**

***"Can't Touch This" starts playing in background***

**Will: I should've seen that coming.**

**Me: Ha!**

**Okay back to your review. I thrive for awkwardness you have no idea. You will, and it will be!**

**LOSTcharlie-claireLOST: Everyone Loves Leo. *"Everyone Loves Raymond" theme plays in the background* Yay a new adjective to use. OMG IM GONNA BE FAMOUS EVERYONE (also I've heard of tvtropes but I've never actually used it lol). Will and Apollo interaction is always great. Well, I've never seen it as a big deal? I mean in Homestuck Rose is a lesbian and it's not a big deal it's just there. Like it's part of the character. It's a character trait. I sorta make it part of the characters? It's not a big deal to me I just blend it all together. Also I basically made every OC up on the spot when I write the chapter it's just "okay her name is Lexi and she's asexual plus Lexi has always sounded like a Spanish name to me so she's Hispanic and she's more focused on friendship than actual love and she's huffy OKAY DONE." Ye I'm awesome *rains awesomeness*. *everyone hides under bed with us* Well it's crowded now.**

**Neon Wish: Thalia is fab okay.**

**MoonlightFairy782: Do you know how long it took me to write that without me. I NEED TO WRITE THAT THAT'S CHAPTER 21 NOW OKAY**

**SilverDawn1313: *sarcastic round of applause for Apollo* Yes Marina and the Diamonds forever. YAY THALIA *sparkles***

**CheetosPotato: Ah yes the brilliancy of Apollo. Well Thanksgiving is over so yeah I guess.**

**Blackberry Explosion: Frame that poem and put it up on my wall. Haha dill pickles. Also Alex is non-binary, zher is just the pronoun I chose (I use it on my non-binary days).**

**Annabeth Chase: Annabeth why you read this. ALSO THANKS SO MUCH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**Guest: *strikes fabulous pose* He sees all the booties. All of them. Yes I always bring entertainment. I don't know how they'll do it but they will. Ye new characters woo *party hats***

**IShallThinkOfTheUsernameLater: YAY COOKIES I DON'T LIKE RAISINS EITHER ALSO I DON'T HAVE RUBBER BANDS BUT I HAVE BRACES TOO. Non-digital clocks are so complicated, but there's one digital clock at my school on military time what. Oh boy that must've been hilarious. YEAH SCREW HONORS PROJECTS. ALSO WINDOW-PAINTING COOLIO. YEAH HEADCANONS *punches brick*. Also somebody **_**finally **_**noticed the reference with Amelia hallelujah *confetti*. Omg she would be. *"Celebrate" plays in background* Ship Thalia with everyone ship her with me lol. Ah yes those lines showcase their dorkiness lol. Omg why this your favorite.**

**That's So Random: Random Fandom next bc it rhymes. *SCREAMS OVER HUNTERS WITH YOU* Yes I saw it I'm on it too also fab poetry is fab. Omg that's so many lines lol. Artemis is the best okay. Yes it's the word-count thing that's a problem. Yeah I'll try the Scholastic thing once I get the chance! Thanks for the good luck! Also Will I'm sorry.**

**Will: No you're not.**

**Me: Eh guess you're right.**

**Oh god my weaknesses I fall for cute kisses and hand-holding and confessions and weddings and kids and Solangelo. As an older sister of small children with small friends who sees her grandparents regularly I can confirm that there is hardly a difference, and that Solangelo totally is like that. Nah Nico just heard too much Taylor Swift during his "makeover" in the Aphrodite cabin plus Annabeth likes her and now he can't get her songs out of his head. It's this thing they had on Cartoon Network the episodes are on YouTube. *funeral held for Jason's and Luke Skywalker's hands***

**Moonshroom420: Oh no take cover *take cover*. I'm Thalia/Everyone trash actually lol.**

**Harmonic Bunny: Chapter order response again. I giggled when I wrote that amg. Yes Jason and Annabeth feel our pain. Yes keep reading. Haha I have the best author's notes. NO YOU MUST SLEEP CHILD. Well okay Solangelo is an explanation BUT SLEEP IMMEDIATELY OKAY?**

**Everythingpotterish: Thanks, and I'll try!**

**ThePirateOfTheSeaOfMonsters: OMG EVERYONE LOVES THIS WHY? Is there seriously a canon for this story now? Yes they do they're awesome. I will, to both updating and writing!**

**Screeching Harmony: YES HUNTERS AND HERE'S MORE MY FRIEND!**

**Sabrina-luna-potter: This mystery five-episode series on Cartoon Network earlier this month. Well Will was working up the courage but it just disappeared bc Thalia cockblocked.**

**Infinitecity: Here's more Thalia! Haha you know they will. I do but he says I doesn't *ignores Will yelling "SHE DOES NOT CARE AT ALL!" in background*. Yes I will keep the torture going!**

**Dragonsaredead: DRAGONS LIVE! Ahaha glad you found it! Ah yes SPN slays me inside.**

**Daddy Directioner: I thought you were the dad of a member of One Direction at first and started panicking omfg. Yeah, I typed the first chapter up on my kindle, which is far from reliable. Thanks! The conversation is the best I s2g.**

**Guest: I WILL ALL OF YOU HOLD YOUR HORSES**

**Solangelo Love XOXO: *That superhero from Megaman voice* And I love you, random citizen! Also your hot chocolate story slayed me I could not stop freaking out.**

**TreebuttonDemigod: Chapter order response **_**again **_**(for the third time in this author's note sheesh). NOBODY CAN EXCEPT FOR MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS I THINK. Jason in MoA is me ever since I was born lol. Haha I've always been mediocre at writing I think but Homestuck and ff pushed me to improve. WAIT NO I'M NOT EVEN THAT GOOD DON'T FEEL ASHAMED OF YOUR WRITING JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK I'M BETTER. Everyone's world is narrow at some point or another seriously. DUDE SRSLY PUSH YOURSELF TO IMPROVE I MEAN LOOK AT MY OLDER FANFICTIONS THEY ARE TERRIBLE IF SOMEONE LIKE ME CAN IMPROVE YOU CAN TOO ALL OF YOU LOVELIES CAN IMPROVE DON'T THINK I'M BETTER AT WRITING THAN ANY OF YOU I JUST READ TOO MUCH AS A KID AND IT STUCK TO ME OKAY? Oh wow your dad better make sure you're okay. Haha I've actually reviewed on wrong chapters before (I've been on this site for two years of course I have).**

**Dauntlessinthetardis: She's back, ladies and gentlemen! One of the most amazing usernames ever! *party happens that leaves everyone hung over in the morning* Welp. That happened. Ah I'm sorry that you squeaked hope you didn't attract any mice to you. Also that is the only hashtag that matters now every other hashtag can go home for all I care.**

**MidnightEevee: I actually want to complete that haiku omg. Next time make it relevant Apollo, you only confused Will. Will was **_**about **_**to but now his courage has gone down the drain. People will never stop cockblocking. **_**Ever.**_

**Thereadingturtle: Wow ff why you be a bitch like this? It's A. P. HSIAO I have no idea what ff did wrong. Yay for reviewers that have been reading since the beginning *tries to high five you but falls***

**13Vickytoria24: Thank you omg. Still don't know why people say this is their fav though. I will keep writing, and you're welcome!**

**A. P . HSIAO: Yay! It's okay, me either. Yes the haikus are amazing. That is how I would react as well. Omg please don't die ily too much. Take cover, this is a long one.**

**Guest: I like responding to reviews so the readers can feel appreciated. I'll try to cut out most of my ramblings, though. Next story I write I'll respond by PM like most people do. And sometimes linebreaks are needed, like a time switch or POV switch. Thanks for the plot compliment though! Haha some might want me to reply though so I'll just keep doing it.**

**CreCra: Excuse you they ARE manly-okay maybe not. They keep on getting cockblocked lol.**

**Guest: They are royally screwed (And by that I don't mean screwing each other).**

**ToneishaShipper: The mystery is that Will thinks Nico likes Percy lol. Everyone knows actually lol. I saw your review lol. Yes whenever people do that I have to fight the urge to murder them. Also backstory more like SAHDHUIAHDWHAGHURSD. It did make sense. WHY IS THIS YOUR FAVORITE FIC IN THE PJO SECTION? Naw it didn't look like flattery lol. Aha long reviews are my drug. Glad you asked! My pronouns change each day (I feel male today actually). And no, it didn't! YES YOU CAN BE FRIENDS WITH THEM!**

**A reviewer: Have some more, my darling! And thank you! I most certainly will!**

**Chapter ideas belong to the articulate A. P. HSIAO, the thematic That's So Random, and the darling That Dam Guest!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan and I'm not McDonald's wait I typed that wrong ah well. Also I have a **_**dam **_**hard time when it comes to not making "Titan's Curse" refs.**

* * *

**C**hapter 17: Huntresses Abound-dedicated to A. P. HSIAO

Thalia grinned cheekily at the astonished crowd of campers. Many had frozen with forks and spoons halfway to their mouths. A few Aphrodite campers were frozen in the act of reapplying makeup. One of the Stolls-which one, she wasn't sure-even had a finger in his nose.

Jason was staring at his sister with a huge grin, despite him cradling his hand. A week after the Hunters had finally heard that the war was over, once everyone was situated again and the dead properly treated, they had gone up to Camp Half-Blood, where Thalia and Jason had a very heartfelt reunion. She had only been able to visit him once since then, and she wished she could make more time in her schedule for him. Unfortunately, the Hunters were very busy. Thalia grinned back at her brother.

She looked back at the pavilion, eyes sweeping the crowd, until her eyes landed on two people in particular.

Nico seemed to have perked up at Thalia's appearance, and raised a hand in greeting. Thalia waved back, although she was a bit confused. Wasn't his hair longer last she saw him? He was sitting across from none other than Will Solace, who looked oddly enough like a deer caught in the headlights.

Thalia heard the whispers of her Hunters behind her, and she had to fight the urge to strangle them. Nico and Will were the reason why she was getting so many headaches.

Jason had told her about Nico's crush on the blonde boy last time she had been in camp, and while Thalia had barely any interest in romance, she was hoping that Nico would be happy. She knew he had been through a lot, a lot more than any other demigod she knew (save for a few Hunters), and that he was a bit delicate. But, according to countless Iris messages from Jason, Will seemed to be good for Nico. The boy had opened up more, and he was forging friendships with some other campers. Nico was even over Percy, which was good. At least, Thalia thought so. She didn't know that Nico even liked Percy, although she had her suspicions.

But her Hunters had caught wind of Will and Nico, or "Solangelo," as they insisted on calling it. Thalia still wasn't sure where. She blamed the Aphrodite cabin, since there were a few daughters of Aphrodite in the ranks of the Hunters, surprisingly. At any rate, it had spread through the Hunters like wildfire. A few didn't particularly care, while some made snarky jokes whenever the topic came up. But many had jumped on board with it, and it annoyed Thalia to no end. Some people just could _not_ shut up at times.

"Thalia!"

Thalia's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pair of arms wrapped around her. She gasped, then looked down to see a familiar head of blonde hair.

"Jason!" she laughed, wrapping one arm around him as well, and ruffling his messy blonde hair. "How are ya, little bro? Everything good with Piper?"

"Yeah, yeah. She went home for a few days, since it's her dad's birthday, but she'll be back by Sunday evening."

"Ah, so two more days, then?"

"Yeah, they haven't seen each other in a while. Gods, Thals, I missed you!"

"Missed you too."

"Hey, hey, hey! It's my favorite daughter of Zeus!"

Thalia looked up from Jason to glare at Leo. "Yeah, because I'm the only one."

"Hey, easy, princess."

Thalia huffed, while Leo's girlfriend-Calypso, wasn't it?-put a hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Leo, you really shouldn't," she chided him.

Leo grinned goofily at her. "Whatever you say, babe." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Thalia mentally gagged. Good thing she had never wanted to date anyone, of any gender. It just held no interest for her.

"Excuse me!"

The quartet moved over to the side as a Taiwanese girl dressed in greasy overalls, short black hair pulled back into a ponytail, moved past them to tackle a Hunter in a parka. Thalia recognized her. Angeline Han, daughter of Hephaestus, was rather close to Charlie Barnwell, the Hunter daughter of Apollo. Thalia had grown used to this. Charlie hugged Angeline back and immediately started chattering to her about "fanfiction" and "update." She groaned inwardly when she caught the word "Solangelo" in their conversation. Charlie was one of the biggest shippers of it, probably having been infected by Angeline.

**(A/N: These are the characters our contest winner, A. P. HSIAO, and LOSTcharlie-claireLOST, sent in. Hope I do them justice!)**

"Hey."

Thalia turned around to grin at the newcomers to the group. "Nico! You brought Will!" she cried. She held her hand out for a high five as a greeting, to which Nico hesitantly complied.

"Yes, hi to everyone, but Jason, what did you do with your hand?" Will frowned at Jason. Jason looked sheepish. It was then that Thalia noticed the paper towel Jason had pressed against his hand.

"Oh, yeah. Um, the conch startled me, so I sorta stabbed my hand with the fork."

Everyone stared, while Will made a squawking sound. "Infirmary. Come on. You are getting that bandaged."

Jason didn't protest, merely waving to the group as Will grabbed his arm and yanked him off to the infirmary. Calypso rolled her eyes as Leo laughed and Thalia snorted. Nico crossed her arms and rolled his eyes as well.

"Okay, so while I've been gone, what has gone down in camp?" Thalia asked. The Hunters heard plenty of news from half-blood siblings, but they weren't always exact and up-to-date.

"Drew scaled the rock wall on a dare and failed miserably," Leo said.

"There was a Star Wars marathon. Or was it Star Trek?" Calypso tapped her lip in thought. "I still can't tell the difference."

"It's easy. Star Trek has the guys with pointy ears that look like Leo," Nico told her.

Leo nodded, until realizing what Nico had said. "HEY!"

"It's true."

Thalia laughed again. A few other campers came up to her and said their hello's, to which Thalia responded and asked them what was up. Leo, Calypso, and Nico continued their debate over whether Leo was secretly half-Vulcan and half-god, instead of half-human.

A few minutes passed until Thalia was able to rejoin the conversation, which had led to Leo somehow assembling a miniature version of the _Enterprise, _the iconic ship that was a huge part of the franchise. Nico and Calypso were giving him looks of disbelief. Thalia also gave him one.

"What? Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" Leo exclaimed. Nico slowly shook his head. Leo huffed and disassembled it, which was even faster than the assembly of it, not to mention just as weird.

"Anyways…Oh, yeah! Last week, at Capture the Flag, the Hecate cabin enchanted their team's flag so that when you picked it up, Justin Bieber music started playing." Everyone cringed at the mention of the dreaded pop star's name. "That Alice chick from Apollo got the flag, and she was so startled she dropped it and fell off Zeus's fist. Needless to say, they won."

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"Eh, I don't know. I think they did something similar in the past with Apollo, Ares, and death metal. Apparently the camper holding the flag couldn't hear for a week afterwards."

Thalia nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember that." She grinned. "That was awesome!"

"Aren't you sadistic?"

"You know it." Thalia punched Leo in the shoulder. He grimaced, only partially joking.

Calypso cleared her throat. "So much has happened in the past month. I am not sure where to begin!"

"Well, we could always go and get caught up some place, I have some awesome stories to tell as well. Say, Percy and Annabeth are off today, right?"

"Not yet, they're getting out early. They were planning to visit camp once school was over," Nico said.

"Perfect! We'll pick them up. Anyone else that could come along?"

Leo scratched his head. "A few of your Hunters? I bet they're dying to catch up with their friends here as well."

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, they've been antsy. We'll just need a nice place to do it. Would Chiron let you guys out of camp?"

"Maybe? There's barely been any monster attacks, after all. Not since that son of Demeter in like…October?"

Nico nodded, confirming Leo's statement.

"Probably licking their wounds still after the war," Thalia snickered. The others grinned with her, although Nico's was more of a half-smile.

"Back to where to eat for lunch. Any ideas?" Leo asked.

"Somewhere not very expensive, I don't think any of us have much money," Nico suggested.

"Fast food then. Cici's Pizza?" Thalia threw in, then realized her mistake. "Wait, no. That place isn't very cheap."

"Burger King?"

"Maybe? The Hunters had it a few days ago, though."

"You guys go out to eat?"

"Once a month, as a reward for our hard work hunting."

"Ooh!" Calypso raised her hand. "That place with the golden archways into heaven!"

Thalia blinked.

"What," Nico said.

"That's how Leo describes it."

Leo coughed. "She means McDonald's."

"Ah." Thalia looked at Nico. "That's your favorite, right?"

Nico shuffled his feet, looking embarrassed. "Uh, sorta."

She smirked. "Want me to get you like fifty Happy Meals?"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone turned to see two blonde males approaching. One was Jason, pushing his glasses up clumsily with a bandaged hand. The other was Will, and he did not look very happy. Thalia had never really talked to the guy much, even when she had been a full-time camper those few months, before the quest…

Thalia shook her head, snapping herself out of the reverie. "What do you mean?"

Nico groaned. "Will, don't."

"He's not having fifty Happy Meals!"

"Will, she's joking."

"Oh." Will turned red. "Yeah, sorry."

Okay, that was weird. But Thalia didn't really mind. She had dealt with weirder, as a demigod. "It's all right," she chuckled. "You can tag along to make sure I don't really give him fifty Happy Meals."

"Really? But the infirmary might need me-"

"Come off it, Will," Nico sighed. "You don't have to be in there all the time. Your last day off was, what, Halloween?"

"Before Halloween," Will corrected. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"And you're the one telling me not to stay cooped up all the time."

"That's different!" Will cried, gesturing wildly with his hands. "At least there I'm near people!"

Nico muttered an Italian curse that did not sound very flattering. Thalia was going to have to learn it later. "No, it's not really. You need a scenery change."

"But-"

"Doctor's orders, Solace."

"I'm the one supposed to be saying that to you, Death Head."

Thalia, Jason, Calypso, and Leo watched the two boys debate back and forth. "Bit like watching a tennis match," Jason commented, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Very," Calypso agreed. "But what does kicking a ball over a yellow fork have to do with it?"

"That's football, Callie," Leo told her.

"I thought football was the white ball and the goals?"

"That's…Actually, you're semi-right."

Will and Nico ignored Calypso and Leo. "Well, I guessed the tables have turned," Nico smirked.

"You can't tell me what to do. I'm older!" Will protested.

"Your birthday is only a few months before mine. And, technically, I am."

"I'm taller!"

"I come from a time where people were shorter. Plus, your dad is one of the tallest Olympians."

"I'm blonde?"

"No."

Will sighed, running a hand over his face. "Fine. I'll-I'll go ask for a day off."

"Perfect!" Thalia chimed in. Both boys jumped, and Thalia huffed. Had they really gotten so wrapped up in their conversation that they had forgotten all about the other three people with them? "We'll see what Hunters want to come, along with maybe a few campers. I'll even ask Grover!"

"Just as long as he doesn't eat my tools," Leo said.

"He doesn't even like eating tools. Says they're too greasy."

"The fact that he has _tried _to eat tools says things by itself."

"Maybe if Juniper can come along, she can restrain him?" Jason suggested.

"Great! Is that all?" Will asked.

"We'll also pick up Percy and Annabeth early from school. You weren't here when we agreed to that," Thalia answered.

At the mention of Percy's name, the smile on Will's face seem to falter. Thalia frowned. What was so wrong about Percy? But she blinked, and the smile reappeared. "That's…great!" the blonde boy exclaimed.

Nico frowned, while Jason, Calypso, and Leo looked at him funny. His reaction hadn't been missed by everyone, it appeared. "Um, yeah," Jason said nervously. "So we'll just…start rounding people up?"

Thalia shrugged. "Seems like it." She then turned to the pavilion to see a very familiar satyr talking eagerly to a green-skinned redheaded girl. "HEY, UNDERWOOD!" Thalia yelled, marching up to them and leaving the others behind.

***YEAH I'M LIVING IN THE STATE OF DREAMING, LIVING IN A MAKE-BELIEVE LAND***

"So…who's gonna get them?" Angeline asked.

A small band of campers and hunters mixed together stared at the outside of Goode High School. The building was pure red brick, and looked like a school that Thalia's mom could've attended as a teen. Or maybe all schools looked so ageless and boring. To be honest, it intimidated Thalia. She had never liked schools, and now that she had grown used to being a free spirit with the Hunters, she felt even more negatively about them. It was like if she put even just one of her pinky toes inside the building, it would gobble her up and confine her to the prison cells better known as "classrooms."

"Who looks old enough to be an adult?" Leo asked, and everyone started looking at each other.

Thalia had convinced Grover to go, but Juniper had to stay behind. The nymphs were still preparing for the winter, helping the animals in the forest hibernate and gathering berries and other foods. Grover had been reluctant to go, but he had not seen Thalia in so long, and Percy had been too busy to visit camp much, along with Annabeth. It was only the urging of his girlfriend that sold him on the idea, and also the chance to eat fries.

A few other Hunters had agreed to come, as did some campers. Thalia couldn't remember the names of all of them, but she remembered Lou Ellen from Hecate and Miranda Gardner from Demeter. The two girls stood rather close together, which made Thalia raise an eyebrow. That was new. Angeline and Charlie had also come. So did Patricia, Rose, Katniss, Trixie, Suzanna, and Lily-six Hunters total, besides Thalia. It was about eighteen people altogether, and when Percy and Annabeth joined them it would become twenty.

At first, Chiron had been hesitant to let such a large group of demigods into the city. But Thalia had reminded him that the Hunters were very skilled with their weapons, and their wolves were at the ready. Not to mention that the campers were also skilled, and many of them had powers as well. They would only be gone for a few hours, and if there was trouble they would return immediately. And that some of them weren't even demigods, such as Grover and Rose. Finally, Chiron relented, much to the whooping of the group.

"Patricia, how old are you again?" Thalia asked,

Patricia gave her a look. "Um, no. I may be able to remember the Revolutionary War, but no way in Tartarus do I look over seventeen."

"Will?" Lou Ellen asked.

"Is it because I'm six feet tall?"

"Maybe?"

"Lou, I highly doubt I'll be able to sign them out."

"Angeline, you try."

"Are you trying to get me in juvie, Charlie?!"

"Nico?" Jason asked.

"You're kidding me, Jason."

"Eh, yeah, you don't really look old enough."

Nico sighed.

Rose finally stepped forward. "I will go."

"You sure?" Lily asked, concern showing for the other nymph.

Rose smiled gently at her. "I do look the oldest, not to mention I technically am."

Thalia nodded. Rose _was_ actually the oldest, both in age and looks. She had been serving Artemis since the Dark Ages. "All right then, Rose. Just say you're…" Thalia tilted her head. Rose had dark brown hair and eerily pink eyes, like the roses she had been named after. "…Percy's cousin or something," the daughter of Zeus finished. "You look enough like him for you to pass off as it."

Rose bowed. "Of course, milady. Shall I bring them straight out here?"

"Yeah. Although, I think we should move. Bunch of teenagers out when school is still in session, someone's gonna get suspicious. How about…" Thalia tapped on her lip and looked around the area. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing at a tree surrounded by park benches a block or two away. "It's perfect."

"Yes, milady. I shall bring them straight here." Rose bowed again and walked up to the main doors, the ones that would bring her to the main office.

Lily tapped her index fingers together, her cheeks tinted the same green as her eyes. "Shouldn't someone go with her? Y'know, to make sure it's all okay."

"Don't worry, Lily, it'll be alright," Patricia reassured her. "Let's just go sit down, I'm a bit winded from all this walking!"

The rest of the group agreed, and as one they walked towards the trees and branches. Jason resumed his story about Katie chasing Travis Stoll up the rock wall, and Thalia laughed, although she did shake her head. She remembered the bets on them that had run like wildfire throughout the camp the fall before the Battle of the Labyrinth, and so far they still weren't together. According to Jason, the bets were still going, although a "new couple" had stolen most of the betting attention away from them.

"You guys are so hung up over them," Thalia scoffed, inspecting the sole of her boots for rocks.

"Shh! They might hear you!" Jason hissed, jerking his head to the bench next to them.

On that bench, Lou Ellen was laughing over a joke that Will had just finished telling. Miranda laughed besides her, and even Nico was smiling. The four were so deeply engaged in conversation, Thalia doubted they could even hear her and Jason conversing.

"You're so paranoid," she scoffed. "Look at them! If they can hear us, I'd be very surprised."

"You never know," Jason told her.

Thalia snorted. "What, they've got ears in the backs of their heads?"

"Maybe. But, listen. I think something's up."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jason scooted closer to his older sister. "Well, you're not really around enough to notice this, but Will seems more…I don't know. Stressed?"

Thalia slowly nodded, remembering Will's reaction to Percy's name. "Yeah, I guess."

"Yeah. I don't know what it is. I asked Lou Ellen and Cecil, but neither of them claim to know anything. And I think it's getting to Nico. He's sort of retreating in on himself. You see how he's smiling right now?" Jason shook his head. "A week ago, I heard him bust out laughing over this really corny joke Will said. It wasn't even that funny! But now he's just _smiling."_

"Maybe you're reading too much into this."

Jason shook his head. "I'm not," he insisted. "It's not easy to make Miranda laugh either, but she's _dying _over there."

"You're insane. Who are you and what have you down with my brother?"

"Thalia, I'm serious."

Thalia looked in Jason's eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. There was no humor there, only a deep concern for his friend. Maybe he was right. After all, Thalia wasn't always in camp.

"Fine. Let's say you're right. What do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know. Talk to them about it? Maybe Nico. You've always gotten along decently with him."

Thalia shrugged. "Maybe. I don't hang with Solace much anyways."

"Why are we whispering?" someone whispered behind them.

Jason jumped, yelping, and Thalia stiffened before reaching for her bow and arrow.

"Oops. Did I scare you?"

"Leo!" Jason whisper-shouted back, whipping around to face his best friend. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out why we're whispering," Leo whispered back. Only his head was visible, as it was poking out over the top of the park bench. "I even have Callie with me!"

Calypso's head popped up next to his, and she smiled tentatively at them. "Hello," she whispered.

Thalia face-palmed. "You guys are idiots," she whispered.

"True, true. But why are we whispering?" Leo whisper-asked again.

"Because we are trying to have a private conversation," Jason whisper-replied.

"What is it about?

"It's _private," _Thalia whispered forcefully.

"Chill, Thals," Jason whisper-scolded.

"Are you whispering about Will? We heard his name," Calypso whispered.

"How long have you been there?"

Calypso shrugged. "I don't know, a moment or two? Not that long."

Thalia scowled. "It doesn't matter. Just leave us alone!" she whispered-shouted.

"You know, I'm rather tempted to make a 'Hey little mama let me whisper in your ear' joke, but I think one of you would punch me," a new voice said. This one wasn't whispering.

Thalia jumped again, but then she recognized the voice, and turned around with a grin. "Percy!"

"The one and only," Percy grinned. Annabeth stood next to him, her hand wrapped around his arm. Rose bowed to Thalia as she passed her and walked over to the bench where Lily sat with Patricia, Katniss, and the other Hunters. The green-eyed nymph squealed at the sight of Rose and wrapped her arms around her. Rose chuckled and planted a kiss on top of Lily's red hair.

"Annabeth!" Thalia exclaimed, running up to the blonde girl and wrapping her arms around her, picking her up easily and swinging her around. Annabeth giggled.

"Put me down before I too get dizzy!" she gasped. Thalia obliged. Next to them, she heard Jason and Grover greeting Percy.

"I know, I know. But, gods-it's been forever! How are you? How's studies? Still planning to be an architect?"

"Of course! The architect club here is even planning to take a trip to a new building downtown in a few weeks, as the end-of-the-semester trip! It's gonna be awesome!"

"That's great! It _does _sound pretty cool." Thalia had no interest in buildings.

Behind her, someone coughed. "What about me?"

Thalia turned from Annabeth to see Percy mock-glaring at her. Jason walked up to Annabeth and gave her a hug, and the two blondes started chattering away about temples and altars. Grover followed him.

"Great to see you again, bro!" Thalia walked up to Percy and wrapped her arms around him, scowling to herself when she realized that Percy had actually grown a bit taller. Sometimes Thalia wished she could grow taller, as staying the same height forever was a downside to being a Hunter.

"I know! It's been so damn long!" He hugged her back. Thalia grinned.

"Yeah, we're gonna have a _dam_ good time at lunch today," she replied as she broke away from the hug, putting emphasis on the "dam."

Percy raised an eyebrow, smiling slyly at her. He caught what she had done there. "Yes, a dam good time."

"The dam best of dam good times."

"Yes, but to have a dam good time, we need Grover!"

Grover looked up at them with a frown. "What?"

"Grover! My _dam_ good friend!" Percy exclaimed.

The satyr frowned at him, until understanding dawned on him, and he laughed, waggling a finger at them. "You guys are too dam much," he said.

Jason and Annabeth stared at them. "Are we missing something here?" Jason asked.

"Not a dam thing at all!" Thalia laughed.

"Nope, not at all!" Grover chorused.

Annabeth sighed. "Is this an inside joke?"

"Annabeth, you have hit the dam nail on the head!" Percy responded.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "You're such a Seaweed Brain."

"Dam it, Wise Girl, I know you love me."

"While that is true, it doesn't change your 'damn' idiocy."

"Wise Girrrrllll!"

"What is the reason for this excessive use of profanity, milady?" Rose asked, frowning at Thalia.

"It's to show dam good of a time we're gonna have!" Thalia replied, grinning cheekily.

"…I do not understand."

"Guys," Lily groaned, "can we stop? I wanna go eat!" The others nodded along with her. Lou Ellen looked ready to cast magic spells on them, and Nico's glare was similar to hers.

"Dammit," Grover muttered. Thalia sighed too.

"Yes, we'll stop, dam it," Percy said.

"Shut it, Jackson!"

Everyone stared at Will, who was glowering at Percy with his arms crossed. The son of Poseidon raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine. I'll stop. Plus, I don't think you can swear in public restaurants anyways." Percy looked surprised, his expression probably mirroring Thalia's. Up until now, the blonde boy had seemed easygoing enough, if not rather sarcastic.

Nico, who was standing next to Will, put a hand on his arm. "Will…" he murmured. "Don't look like you're gonna murder him."

Will blinked and looked down at Nico. "Did you say something?"

"You're glaring at Percy."

"Oh. Sorry. Are we going now?"

"Sure, if everyone's ready," Thalia interjected before Nico could answer. She then turned to the others. "Ready, you guys?"

"Yes!" they answered, many of them sounded exasperated. Thalia rolled her eyes. They didn't have to sound so exasperated.

"The McDonald's is near Central Park, correct?" Katniss asked.

"Yes," Annabeth answered.

"Perfect."

"Obviously."

The Hunter laughed, and Percy slid his arm through Annabeth's. She frowned up at him, but stood on her toes to place a cheek on Percy's cheek anyways. Katniss stuck a finger in her throat and pretended to gag.

"C'mon, Callie, let's go!" Leo grabbed Calypso's arm and started running to be in front of the group. The girl shrieked at first, but laughed and jogged alongside him. Jason followed, yelling at them to wait for him.

Rose and Lily walked behind them, hand-in-hand as well, although Lily was skipping more than she was actually walking. Patricia and Trixie caught up to them and they all started chattering eagerly about hunting methods.

Suzanna started asking Lou Ellen and Miranda about plants and healing spells, and Lou Ellen managed to pull Will into the conversation, although he looked reluctant to. Suzanna wrinkled her nose at Will's presence but didn't say a word. Katniss fell back from Percy and Annabeth and joined them. Nico lingered besides Will, but didn't really participate in the conversation. Charlie and Angeline walked a few feet away, deep in a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Thalia walked behind all of them, mostly to make sure her Hunters wouldn't pull any bows and arrows out and start shooting all the boys. It had happened before, even though it was just a few teens that had stumbled on them hunting. The wounds had been pretty hard to explain to the hospital.

After a few minutes of ambling towards Central Park, Nico dropped away from the group of people and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking by himself. Thalia frowned. This was the old Nico she remembered. He just glared down at the sidewalk and hunched his shoulders close together.

Thalia wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but she walked up to the son of Hades, making sure her Hunters were still in her line of vision. "Hey."

Nico jumped and whipped his head up to face Thalia. Perhaps the daughter of Zeus was mistaken, but Nico seemed expectant, like he was hoping someone was there. However, it seemed to drop when he saw who it was. "Oh. Hey, Thalia."

"Hey, yourself. Things still going good?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You guess? What's going on?"

"It's just cold, and I'm hungry and tired of walking."

"Yeah, yeah, kid. I know that. We all feel ya. But you're looking pretty down." She leaned in closer to him. "This about Solace?" she whispered.

"Ugh. I don't want to talk about this right now. I still can't believe Jason told you!"

"In his defense, he was so caught up at the time that he let it slip. And you chased him around for a solid ten minutes afterwards. Plus, I swore on the River Styx not to tell a soul unless you gave me explicit permission." Thunder boomed lightly overhead, and Thalia frowned, looking up at the light gray sky. She wasn't sure if the thunder was booming to remind her of her promise, or if it was because of her, period. Or if it was because it was going to rain, she thought the news channel at the electronics store she and the Hunters had passed earlier had said something about a chance of rain. If that was the case, she hoped they would make it before it started to pour.

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"Hey, it's alright, Nico." Thalia looked down at Nico and smiled what she hoped was a comforting smile. "If I was in your position, I would be nervous too. Well, not exactly, since I don't have an interest in romance and never will. But still."

"Thanks."

She couldn't tell if that was sarcastic or if Nico really meant that. Thalia hoped she did. "But seriously. Is something up with you two? Will looked like he was ready to jump on Percy and throttle him right there and then."

"I…I don't know what's going on either,"

Thalia stopped short and stared at Nico. "Nico, I swear, if he has done anything to hurt you, I will personally take every arrow I can find and shove them up his sorry di-"

"Please don't," Nico muttered, his face turning pale. "That sounds really painful."

"Ah. Yeah. I wouldn't know, since I don't have one." She started walking again, and the son of Hades followed, falling into pace with her.

"Let's just forget that, okay?"

"Sure. But if he does, I'm not gonna hesitate."

"I am fully aware of that."

"I know you are, kid."

Silence. Thalia knew there was more, but she wasn't going to weasel it out of Nico if he didn't want to tell her. She wasn't going to force him to do anything he didn't want to do.

Then Nico groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Okay, I _think _I know what might be bothering him."

"You think, or you're sure?"

"Think. Like I said, Will hasn't told me anything. But apparently, he hasn't told anyone else anything either."

"And how do you know this?"

"…I may or may not have asked his cabin and his other friends?"

Thalia laughed. "Oh, man, looks like you've got it baaaaad!"

"Shut up, Thalia."

"Nope." Thalia turned around and walked backwards so she could face Nico. "I can't be tamed, di Angelo."

Nico glowered at her and she chuckled. "C'mon, you know you do."

"I do _not _like him that much."

Thalia raised an eyebrow as high as she could.

"Okay, maybe I do."

Thalia raised her other eyebrow to the same height as the other one, causing her piercings to being jostled. Nico looked nervous. "Your eyebrows are scary," he told her.

"They ain't coming down 'til you admit it."

Nico sighed. "Yes. Fine. I have it bad for Will Solace. Are you satisfied?"

"Maybe. So what do you think Will could be so worked up about?"

More silence. "Me."

Thalia stopped once again. "Wait, what?"

"I mean, it makes sense, right? He's not telling a soul about it, and nobody has a clue as to what it is. So it probably has something to do with someone. And I think it might be me? I don't know who else. He treats everyone else the same as always, and I think he treats me like he usually does, but-"

"Hold up, di Angelo. You're rambling," Thalia cut him off, starting to walk backwards again. "Maybe you've got it worse than I thought. Perhaps you should tell him before your infatuation gets worse?"

Before she even finished her last sentence, Nico was shaking his head furiously. "No way! He's stressed enough, I don't want to add to it! And what if he doesn't like me?"

"Then ask about what's stressing him out again!"

"He's not gonna tell me!"

_Gods, why don't people talk to each other?! _Thalia thought. "Well, it's either one or the other, so take your pick. That's all I got, bud."

Nico frowned, craning his head to look behind Thalia. "Um, Thalia?"

"Nope. You ain't changing the subject on me."

"But-"

"No buts, unless if you mean butt as in-"

_BAM!_

Thalia shrieked as she rammed right into someone, and they both fell over. The person let out a yell of surprise, but Thalia wasn't able to identify the owner. Other people started talking.

"Hey!"

"What the fuck-"

"Oh my gods!" (That was Nico.)

Thalia found herself lying on her side on the pavement. Her back ached, and one of her shoes was nearly off. Fortunately, she didn't feel so bad.

"Oh, man."

"Oh my gods!"

"Thals! You alright?"

Three people appeared above Thalia: Percy, Annabeth, and Jason. Her brother knelt down next to her. "Anything hurt? Broken?"

"Yeah, my ass and my pride," Thalia grumbled, still winded from the fall. Jason chuckled and reached out a hand for her to take. She took it and allowed herself to be pulled up, before looking around to see who she had bumped into.

Well, speak of the Devil, and he shall come. Or, in this case, stand where you could bump into him.

Will Solace was sitting up, rubbing his head and grimacing. Lou Ellen waved her hands as she nervously chanted a few spells to help him. Miranda hovered nearby, fanning herself with her hand like she didn't know what to do. Leo was digging around in his pockets for what Thalia suspected was either ambrosia or nectar. Calypso was also digging around in hers. And-unsurprisingly, Thalia added silently to herself-Nico was knelt down in front of Will, probably asking him if he was alright.

That was all Thalia could see before a bunch of silvery parkas blocked her line of vision.

"Milady! Are you alright?" Rose asked, eyes glowing brighter with concern. Lily jumped up beside her, chattering about how Thalia was probably grievously injured. Charlie dug her hands in her pockets, and Angeline was doing the same.

Katniss had pulled her bow out. "Would you like me to shoot the blonde boy, milady, for harming you? Or the black-haired one, for distracting you? Because I don't really care which one." Suzanna, Patricia, and Trixie also had their bows out, and all were glaring in Will's direction.

Thalia shook her head, blinking violently. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm fine, I'm okay, and it was just an accident."

"You sure?" Patricia asked.

"Found a bottle of nectar!" Charlie grinned, waving the bottle in the air.

"Thanks, but I don't need it." The Hunter frowned and stuffed the bottle back in one of her pockets. "Just make sure we're all okay."

"Sure." Charlie agreed sullenly, and jogged over to the rest of their group. Angeline followed.

Thalia rolled her eyes and insisted once again that she was fine, and that nobody needed to be shot. She then turned to look around at where they were, and her eyes fell on the McDonald's. "Ah, we're here!" she proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Finally!"

"Yes, we are. The golden archways to heaven!" Calypso declared, skipping up to stand next to Thalia. The daughter of Zeus took this to mean that Will was alright. And it was confirmed when Charlie walked up to her and gave her a thumbs up.

Thalia turned around and walked up to Will, who was rubbing his head and wincing gingerly. Lou Ellen and Nico stood on either side of him, arms poised as if to catch him when he fell.

"Hey, man, that was completely my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry."

"S'okay, I understand. Let's just go in, alright? We came all this way."

Thalia nodded, and turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, then! Everyone know where they're ordering?"

***HEY BOY YOU GOT ME ON MY TIP TOES***

Nico regretted Thalia's idea.

The lunch had, fortunately, passed without a hitch, although all of the Hunters had spent it glaring at Will. The son of Apollo himself had spent it squirming under their gaze and asking Lou Ellen to cast a spell that would protect him. He couldn't be blamed, honestly. Nobody would ever want to be on the bad side of any of the Hunters.

Then came the walk back to the Empire State Building, where Argus would be waiting for them. Nothing else had happened then, until Thalia confronted Nico.

The Hunter was fed up of hearing Nico speculate about what was up with Will, and finally snapped at him to either investigate it himself, or tell Will his feelings. Of course there was no way in hell Nico would admit his feelings. So he went with the first option.

Nico walked up to Will and asked if he could talk to him after they got back to camp, in front of the pine tree. Will looked panicked, and for a split second Nico thought he was going to say no, but then he sighed, closing his eyes, and agreed. Nico wasn't sure why, but he was glad that he did, anyways.

Once everyone was back at camp, they all tumbled out of the car. The Hunters were first, relieved to be away from all the boys, and Thalia was forced to follow them, although she did glare at Nico as if to say "You'll be the one with arrows up your dick if you don't do this so help me Zeus." Percy and Annabeth were next, jogging up to old friends and catching up. Leo, Jason, Angeline, and Calypso followed, while Lou Ellen and Miranda were last to leave.

Now Argus had driven the car away, and Nico was standing with his arms crossed, facing Will, at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. Will looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Funny, since that was exactly how Nico felt. But he knew, deep down, that he had to do this.

They both stood there in silence for a few minutes. Nico just couldn't bring himself to ask what was bothering Will again. He already knew Will would refuse to answer him. Will rocked back and forth on his feet, looking anywhere but at Nico.

Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. He blurted out, "What is it with you and eyes?"

Will stopped rocking and gave him a weird look, although he avoided his gaze as always, merely flickering his eyes up. "What?"

"You're doing it right now. You don't really look people in the eyes when you're talking with them, and I've been wondering why."

Will's answer surprised him. "You're asking about-? Oh. Oh, yeah. Oh, okay, you aren't-Okay. It's not about-Okay." He sounded…relieved?

"Will? That's not really an answer."

"I know, it's just a little bit complicated, and I really should've told you sooner, I just kept on forgetting to."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Continue."

"Okay!" Will clapped his hands together loudly, wincing slightly at the loud noise the action made. "There's this mental condition, sort of, and it's known as Asperger's Syndrome. It's typically classified as a form of…autism, I think? I think they started calling it a separate thing. Anyways, people with this typically have ADHD and sometimes OCD. They also tend to not look people in the eyes when speaking or whatever, and ramble on about a topic they're sorta obsessed with. Also some rocking back and forth and finger-tapping, along with having difficulty understanding idioms and stuff."

Nico blinked. Will had spoken so fast, he didn't catch all of it, save for the first two sentences, along with "ADHD," "in the eyes when speaking," "rocking," and "idioms and stuff." "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught all of that."

Will sighed and tilted his hand back and forth. "Eh. It's sorta complicated, and a lot to take in at first. I didn't understand it either when I first learned about it."

"Okay…" Nico's brain was still trying to process the information. He didn't know much about autism, much less that there was different types of it. "Is there, uh, a book or something explaining this? In Ancient Greek, of course."

Will brightened at Nico's attitude. He seemed happy that Nico was taking this so well. "Oh, yeah, there is! It's in my cabin, though, so…"

"Is this what's been stressing you out this whole time?"

Nico wasn't expecting Will's grin to slide off his face, and that alone told Nico that this wasn't it. "Will, I'm serious. What is it? I'm worried."

A twig snapped in the woods nearby, and a string of foreign curses followed. Nico silently cursed as well. So close. "Who's there?!" he barked, drawing out his sword. Will nervously balled his hands into fists, looking wildly around.

"Stand your ground!" a female voice hissed from the woods.

"Um, does she mean us?" Will asked.

"I don't think so," was Nico's response.

An arrow flew out of the woods, imbedding itself in the ground between the boys. They both yelped and scrambled away from it, Nico nearly dropping his sword.

"Oh, wow, you _entirely _missed the point of that," another girl's voice drawled, dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry, I just don't want to hurt them!" another girl answered, supposedly defending herself.

Nico regained his composure and raised his sword up behind his head, backing up to the base of the hill, so nobody could sneak up on him. "Show yourself!" he barked in the direction of the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Will back up to hill as well, although he looked like a fish out of water. Nico realized Will was basically defenseless, and even then he had little-to-none experience actually fighting. Nico was going to have to defend him. The thought of defending Will sent a rush of warmth through him, and he had to remind himself that right now was not a good time to be fantasizing about his crush.

"Why would we reveal ourselves to _you?!" _the second girl's voice rang out.

"I don't know, so we can see what we're fighting?" Will quipped.

_Zing!_

Another arrow flew out of the woods, and Nico could barely register the punching glove attached to it before it hit Will smack in the face. The blonde fell back onto the ground, with a loud _THUMP!_

"WILL!" the son of Hades shouted. He did drop his sword that time and ran over to him.

Will's eyes were closed, and he was limp on the ground. A small trail of blood oozed from his nose, where the glove had hit him. The arrow in question laid a few feet away, but Nico ignored it. Will was more important. He always was, no matter what was stressing him out or any type of Asperger's at all.

"Will?" Nico asked, and gingerly picked up the son of Apollo's wrist to feel for a pulse, just like how he had taught him. It felt wrong, almost, how the tables had turned: The doctor the patient, and the patient…Well, technically, Nico wasn't a patient anymore. But he was certain that, as far as Will was concerned, he was. And he was sort of the doctor now, anyways.

A steady beating pulsated in Will's wrist, and Nico nearly collapsed with relief. Will was alive, just knocked out cold. But that had still been a nasty knockout, so he would have to take him to the infirmary as soon as possible, even if he had to drag him. And seeing how Will had quite more than one or two inches on Nico, despite him being only a few months older, he might actually have to drag him.

Nico was just about to start dragging him to the infirmary where at least half of the Apollo cabin would be, until he heard the voices from behind him.

"Shit."

"You…Did you just…YOU IDIOT! YOU KNOCKED HIM OUT!"

"_You _said to! What was the point of giving me that arrow, then?"

"To shoot somewhere other than his head?"

"I was merciful and avoided his groin, he'll probably thank me for that later."

"We're trying to knock some sense into them, not _literally _knock them out!"

"Hush, all of you!"

Nico turned just in time to see a ebony-skinned girl in a parka walk out of the trees, followed by many others. He dropped Will's wrist and stood up.

"The Hunters." He still resented them after all these years, despite having a good friend be one of them.

The girl regarded him coolly. "Hello as well. The harm to your boyfriend was unintentional."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," a girl in the group muttered. Nico glared in her direction, and the girl-whoever she was-shut up accordingly.

"Okay, if it wasn't intentional, then why did you still do it? With a boxing glove, no less."

Another Hunter started tapping her fingers nervously on her bow. "Um, should we tell him? Or should we-"

"Gods, Clara, he's gonna figure it out sooner or later. Boys are actually smarter than we give them credit for, surprisingly enough," another Hunter chided.

Nico decided to let the insult slide. This _was _a group meant for girls only, of course. It made sense that they would be slightly sexist. Although if they were going for worldwide equality, that slogan was not going to get them very far.

"Lay it on me," he said, spreading his arms out wide. "I have a few guesses, obviously, and at least half involve Will and me."

"Oh, great, he really has," yet another Hunter muttered. Nico gave up on trying to count them.

"Allow me to explain," the first girl said, her hands clasped together. She held her chin up high and her shoulders back, radiating an air of royalty. "The unintentional injury of your boyfriend-"

"He's _not-"_

But the Hunter continued to speak as if Nico simply wasn't there at all, only raising her voice slightly. "-and the shooting of the first arrow was because some of us wanted to attempt to get you together."

"_Some?!" _another Hunter asked incredulously.

Nico wanted a Hunter to pull out another boxing glove arrow and hit _him _with it. Great. The Hunters shipped it. They knew. And they, like everyone else and their mother, was trying to get him together with him. An immortal all-girl's club shipped him with someone. That was definitely not on Nico's bucket list.

"Look, I guess that I…_appreciate _that you guys care, but…please, can you not? Enough people have been messing with us as it is, and I'd prefer not to get shot in the face by a maniac."

"Ex_cuse _me?!"

A tiny brunette girl shoved her way up to the front of the group. She glared at Nico with deep brown eyes covered by glasses. "Did you just call me a maniac?!" she demanded, shaking her first with the bow in it at him. A few Hunters stared glaring as well. Even the first girl with the air of royalty glowered at him.

Nico gulped. He had fucked up, big-time. "Look, I didn't mean it-"

"SHUT UP!"

Faster than the eye could blink, the girl had pulled out an arrow and strung it on the bow. In the next instance an arrow was flying towards Nico.

The son of Hades yelped as he ducked, the arrow sailing harmlessly over his head and embedding itself in the sparsely-grassed hill behind him. He shuddered. That arrow had no boxing glove on it, only a sharpened silver tip. It was definitely not good for his health.

He turned back from the arrow to find that at least half of the Hunters had their bows and arrows trained on him. He gulped and slowly stood back up, hands raised in surrender.

"You dare insult us, son of Hades?" The girl who had chided Clara spat.

Nico started to shake his head violently. "No-No! I didn't mean it-"

"Whatever! Let 'em rip, girls!"

At least a dozen arrows let loose all at once, trained only on one destination: Nico.

Nico had to think fast, lest he risk dying by the arrows. He twisted and ducked to avoid them, probably pulling off what looked like a very complicated-and very comical-dance routine. The arrows flew harmlessly into the hill.

A Hunter cursed in what sounded like Romanian. "We're wasting arrows!"

_Geez, glad that you think that if none of the arrows have hit me then they're being wasted, _Nico snapped in his head, but he had to avoid another barrage of arrows.

"Stay still, son of Hades, so we can shoot you!"

"Wow, I feel loved."

"Don't insult us again, or you will-"

"What the _hell _is going on here?!"

Many of the Hunters paled, some dropping their weapons. However, Nico had never been so glad to hear that voice in his life.

Thalia Grace stomped up to the group, electric blue eyes flashing with anger. She was trailed by Charlie, who looked extremely nervous.

"Hey, Thalia, let's not kill them all, okay?" Charlie asked. "Lady Artemis wouldn't approve!"

"Charlie, right now, I could NOT give less of a shit." Thalia marched up to the front of the group and started yelling at them. "Jesus Christ, I leave you all alone for more than three hours, and _this_ is what you come up with?! An ambush?! Are you fucking kidding me?! What the actual hell!"

"But, milady-" a Hunter started to process.

"The next person to call me _that _is dead meat, I swear," Thalia snarled, and the Hunter shut her mouth.

"This is _not _acceptable behavior. What if you actually killed one of them? Or, at the least, gravely injured one of them? Apollo wouldn't be very happy, even if we are followers of his sister. And do you _really _want the god of the dead after you?"

Silence. A few Hunters lowered their heads in shame.

"Good. Now, we're gonna set up in the Artemis cabin. Since arrangements were already made for Capture the Flag, you're still gonna play. But I will come up with a different punishment later. Am I clear?"

"Yes, milady," was the answer from the dejected chorus of Hunters.

"What did I say about-Actually, you know what? I don't really care right now. Hunters, with me. Charlie, help Nico take Solace to the infirmary."

And with that, Thalia marched off back in the direction of the cabins. After a few grumbles, the group of Hunters that had attacked Nico and Will followed her, some shooting glares at Nico, a few at Charlie. Charlie just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms while Nico glared back.

When they were a few yards away, Charlie turned around and walked over to where Will was lying on the ground, and Nico followed. His heart beat when he saw that, even though he was technically still on his back, Will had awoken and was lying back on one of his elbows, grimacing as he rubbed his face where the arrow had hit.

"Sorry about that. Some of my fellow Hunters are more than a bit off in the head," Charlie apologized. "Can you stand up?"

Will made a face and slowly pushed himself off from the ground. "I think-WHOA!"

He stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face. Before he knew it, Nico had run up to Will and caught him. "Obviously, you can't," he said. Will straightened himself up, although he left a hand on Nico's shoulder for support, causing it to burn with warmth.

"No, no, I can. I'm just slightly…woozy. You can let go now."

"No. You're gonna fall again."

Will took his hand off and tried to walk. "I'm fi-" He tripped again. This time, Charlie caught him. Even though he knew it was irrational, a spark of jealously towards Charlie lit up in Nico.

Charlie casually took one of Will's arms and draped it across her shoulders. "Ay, Nico!" she called. "Take his other arm, will ya? We gotta get him to the infirmary, stat."

Will started to protest as Nico walked up to him and took his other arm. "What-no! I'm the doctor, not the patient! You can't-"

"Sorry, Solace. The tables have turned," Nico told him, ignoring the burning of his shoulders.

"They have not!"

"Think of this as payback for those three days."

"You enjoyed them."

Nico bit his lip. He _did _enjoy them, at least partially (mostly because he got to spend time with Will). "Eh, only a little. Let's see how _you_ are when you're on assigned bed-rest."

"You are enjoying this way too much, aren't you."

Charlie coughed, startling both boys. "Quit your bickering. Will's face injury isn't gonna get better any sooner if you both keep on fighting like this."

"Oh, I-" Will sighed. "Fine. Let me be the patient this time around."

Nico laughed, and together he and Charlie carried the dizzy son of Apollo to the camp infirmary.

* * *

**Suddenly I advance the plot. Fun, right? (I played the entire battle scene out in my head and for some reason Will had glasses? Also first proper battle scene that I can recall writing woop)**

**I barfed up a Solangelo one-shot called "Underneath the Mistletoe." The events of that one-shot do not affect the events of this story, however, jsyk. Also I barfed up a Solangelo drabble called "Nico-Sexual." There's something wrong with me I s2g.**

**Also my account turned two years old on Saturday woop woop! **

**And Connor and Lacy were supposed to get together this chapter, BUT I had to push it back to next chapter, because Hunters. You'll have to wait for the next chapter, I'm afraid. Sorry!**

**Plus author Emimawi is starting up a really cool story! It takes place 22 years after the Second Giant War, about five demigods on a quest to stop Eris, the goddess of Discord, and my character Shannon Walker is in it! Also there's a genderfluid character as one of the main characters and I literally screamed when I found out. Representation of my gender woohoo!**

**Also started using my WattPad and AO3 majorly. WattPad is TailsDoll13, AO3 is Gamzee_Makaraoni.**

**Also this story **_**may **_**be seeing a sequel! One where everyone is annoying Solangelo while they're dating! It'll probably have a longer lifespan, and not be quite as dramatic at this one. What do you guys think? Of course, I have other fanfictions to work on, so it might not be a main focus of mine. I might start in in April? I have an idea for the first chapter already.**

**One last ramble: Speaking of ThePirateOfTheSeaOfMonster's review, is there like a "canon" for this story? Like, headcanons or stuff that you see happening in this story? I'd be interested to see them.**

**Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to find gasoline and matches so I can burn America for letting a murderer walk free because he's a white policeman. So leave me your favorite lines!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**

**P.S. I'm gonna publish the toothbrush one-shot at some point don't worry.**


	18. Chapter 18: Visit From That Godly Side

**Sorry for the late update. Life sucks. So does midterms. At least I have Solangelo.**

**Also, today is not only the two-month anniversary of this fic, but my brother's birthday! And it is also the birthday of the lovely Evarria! Everyone, please send her a "Happy birthday!"**

**And since you guys love the first chapter so much, I wrote an official parody and sung it. The link to my horrible singing voice is in my profile, if any of you are interested in hearing it. But please, DO NOT POST IT ELSEWHERE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. I DO NOT WANT IT SPREAD ALL OVER THE INTERNET.**

**I also started responding to user reviews through PM's, because a guest pointed out that I have long author notes because of me responding, which makes my chapters a bit of a drag. So I'll only be responding to guest reviews in author's notes from now on. I hope this make it easier for all of you!**

**Also why do you people want Capture the Flag? I'll just write that separately actually, since I have a set plan for this fic in mind, and unfortunately Capture the Flag isn't gonna fit. Sorry!**

**Plus, before anyone gets on my case, I spelled Delun's name as Delun on purpose, I'm not misspelling Dylan. Delun is a Chinese name. Delun, Jovver, and Adilah are actually three of my more personal OC's. I have like, what-28? And no, none of them are in this fic, save for the three mentioned just now. This is because I have separate universes surrounding them.**

**And warning: THERE ARE KANE CHRONICLES SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER. I TRIED TO KEEP AS MANY MAJOR SPOILERS AS I COULD OUT OF THIS CHAPTER, BUT PLEASE BE CAREFUL. AND READ KANE CHRONICLES IF YOU HAVEN'T IT'S AWESOME.**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Great T'Phon: Singlehandedly one of the greatest chapters I have ever written.**

**Random Fandom: (Because I like to think I'm a genius. Random Blogger next, perhaps?) YEAH TAWAINESE PRIDE wait I'm white BUT STILL SUPPORT ALL THE PRIDE. I have always seen Thalia as a bamf (yes eyebrows) and the Hunters are sworn to their lieutenant and to each other always. I could not resist the pull was too strong. I feel so **_**dam **_**sorry for your classmate. I have one named Hans and the Frozen jokes are endless (It's funny because when the middle schoolers were shown around our school he got someone named Anna and I nearly cried). CALYPSO AND LEO ARE MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN OKAY (yes Leo we all know the truth). NICO WILL ALWAYS LOVE WILL DON'T ARGUE WITH ME also they're like fifteen that's a bit young. Haha toothbrush BUT SRSLY YOU GUYS WANT CAPTURE THE FLAG WHAT. I think Conacy lol. Yes let us burn America.**

**Creepy Girl: The Hunters always use force in regard to boys. So don't put the Hunters in charge of Solangelo lol. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. As a white person, I apologize on behalf of the assholes of my race (I **_**live **_**with some). *Ron Weasley voice* The Hunters **_**need **_**to get their priorities straight. Nico is a little sassmaster and nobody can say otherwise okay.**

**Guest: Yes the sequel will be a reality.**

**Lazy: I wrote an official parody since you all love it so much. See my profile for the link.**

**ToneishaShipper: Well, they're Hunters. And the OTP consists of two boys. So…**

**A reviewer: Ah yes all hail my linebreaks.**

**Guest: HERE IT IS!**

**Chapter idea belongs to Maya-chan2007!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm Rick Riordan, I'm just saying that me and Rick Riordan have never been seen in the same room together (because he lives five thousand states away that's why).**

* * *

**C**hapter 18: Visit from the Other Godly Side-dedicated to LOSTcharlie-claireLOST

"And, um, this is my cabin!"

Adilah looked up from her magazine at the sound of her half-sibling Lacy' voice, self-consciously pushing the top of her hijab back.

The blonde daughter of Aphrodite gestured around the mostly empty cabin, which contained Lexi flipping another page of her book, Paul bobbing his head to some music as he texted, Mitchell rummaging through a closet for something, and Delun fixing up a pillow on his bed. Lexi raised an eyebrow at Lacy and the two people behind her. Mitchell didn't even look, while Delun waved a little. Paul jerked his head up and pulled out an earbud.

Adilah didn't recognize the two people behind Lacy. One was a teenage boy, who seemed to be of mixed race, most likely African and white. His hair was grown out in a small afro, and he wore a strange Egyptian symbol around his neck that looked like an eye. The other was a girl, with shoulder-length caramel hair that had purple streaks and tips. She also wore a strange symbol around her neck that resembled a robot angel. She had a similar face structure to the boy's, and Adilah guessed that they must've been siblings, despite her skin being much lighter than the boy's.

"Well, it's not quite as pink as I expected it to be," the girl commented, idly twirling a purple streak with her finger.

Oh. Adilah realized that they must have been the two friends Lacy had said wanted to visit Camp Half-Blood. This wasn't uncommon, mortal friends usually popped in from time to time. The only catch was making sure you knew when they would visit ahead of time, so everything relating to demigods and Greek gods could be hidden away in time. Fortunately, this wasn't too hard to do. You just had to lock all the sheds and only put the practice swords out. Also, declaring the woods completely off-limits. And then it was simple enough.

"Wow, Sadie, I'm hurt to know that that's what you think of me," Lacy replied, putting a hand over her heart in mock hurt.

The girl-Sadie, wasn't it?-snorted. "Always glad to let you know."

The boy cleared his throat. "So, uh, who are your cabin mates?"

"Oh, right! Well, this isn't all of them, but that's Lexi, the girl with the book-"

Lexi raised her hand and waved it in their general direction, not bothering to look up from her book. Lacy pursed her lips together, visibly annoyed by her half-sister.

"-And the boy at his bed is Delun-"

Delun grinned and waved again. The boy with Lacy waved back, and Sadie gave him an once-over.

"-Then that's Mitchell in the closet-"

"Don't talk to me, I'm busy!" Mitchell shouted back. "I knew that shirt was somewhere…"

"Try the other one! Or are you sure you didn't leave it in Jake's cabin?" Paul raised an eyebrow, obviously teasing Mitchell.

"Shut up, I already looked in the other closet!" Mitchell sighed as he walked out of the closet, slamming the door shut, before marching straight up to the door. "Hi, Lacy. And hi to your friends." He nodded at them before walking out the door.

"Jake?" The boy with Lacy had knit his eyebrows together, most likely in confusion.

"Um, yeah. Jake's his boyfriend…" Lacy twisted a strand of hair around her finger.

The boy shrugged. "Fine by me. I don't care."

"Could've fooled me, Carter," Sadie said. _Oh, so his name is Carter,_ Adilah thought.

"Anyways!" Lacy clapped her hands together. "Where was I? Oh, yes. The boy with the earbuds is Paul-"

"Sup." Paul nodded before sticking his earbud back in and resuming his texting.

"-And, finally, the girl with the magazine is Adilah!"

Adilah smiled shyly as Sadie and Carter turned to look at her. "Hi," she half-whispered, hoping that she wasn't blushing. She wasn't very good with new people.

"Hi, yourself," Sadie said.

Adilah merely smiled and turned back to her magazine, trailing her finger down the page as she searched for her spot in the article about the latest trending togas designed by the Muses. She shifted the magazine away from the eyes of Lacy's friends, so that they wouldn't see the cover and question it.

"Well, I think this camp is pretty cool so far," Carter commented, crossing his arms. "Pretty nice program that they have going on here for…you know…"

Adilah knew what he was talking about. The cover story for the camp was usually that it was a place for children with one or both parents missing, abusive homes, or who were taken out of the foster care system. Nobody seemed to question this much, save for those involved in the foster care system, or who knew someone with a bad home or at least one parent missing.

"Yeah, it is." Lacy twisted her strand of blonde hair even tighter, and Adilah frowned. Lacy never talked much about her father. All Adilah knew was that there was supposedly an icy road and a drunk driver. It made her feel bad, honestly. Adilah wasn't a year-round camper herself. In fact, she was only in camp for a few weeks because the photoshoot her father was organizing in Brooklyn was taking up a lot of his time, and he wanted her to be safe those few weeks that they were staying in New York.

"So!" Sadie interjected, obviously trying to clear the awkward air that had settled. "Are you gonna show us the other cabins?

Lacy stiffened. "Oh, no! I mean, I'm not sure. Some of the cabins are off-limits. The summer program I mentioned? Those are the cabins that I mentioned are reserved for them."

"Like that big, blue, ocean-themed cabin?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Seems to be a lot of Greek mythology around here…" Carter muttered, glancing around the cabin.

"Yeah, the owners of the camp are a bit obsessed with Greek myths and stuff. I mean, the name of the sponsorship company _is_ Delphi Strawberries, like the…um…"

"The Oracle?" Lexi called out, flipping to a new page.

"Yeah, that Oracle from that myth! She slew a giant snake…"

Paul snorted, and Adilah saw Delun bite his lips to keep from laughing. Lacy knew the myths as well as anyone else in the cabin, but she was playing dumb to throw off Carter's suspicions, as well as possibly Sadie's.

"Um, I think that might've been Apollo."

"Geez, Carter, since when did _you_ know so much Greek mythology?" Sadie snorted.

Carter gave her a look, and she stared right back. Adilah had the uncanny feeling that they were communicating without speaking, and it put all of her demigodly instincts on edge. Glancing around the cabin, she knew she wasn't the only one. Paul and Delun were shooting each other worried looks, and Lacy was nibbling a fingernail-something she always did when nervous. Even Lexi had looked up from her book to stare at them.

Something was definitely up with Lacy's two friends, but Adilah wasn't sure what.

"Fine."

Sadie's hardened voice jolted Adilah out of her thoughts. She turned back to her magazine. Lexi flipped another page. Paul put his earbud back in, and Delun crouched down to look under his bed. They continued as if nothing had happened.

"So, if the blue cabin is off-limits," Sadie asked again, "Are there any other-"

_WHAM!_

The door flew open, and everyone winced. Lacy, Carter, and Sadie, who had had their backs turned to the door, jumped.

Drew Tanaka stormed in the room, breathing heavily. She turned to yell out the door, "WELL, SEE HOW MUCH I CARE!" A garbled voice yelled back, and Adilah faintly recognized it as that of an Ares camper. Drew slammed the door shut. Fuming, she turned around and marched over to her bed, ignoring Lacy and her friends completely. She yanked a bag off of her nightstand and rummaged around in it before pulling out an inhaler, putting it in her mouth and breathing steadily in and out.

"Drew?" Sadie asked, sounding shocked, and Adilah felt her mouth go slack. She looked up to see Lexi staring back at her, mouthing what looked like several curse words in Spanish. Delun had gotten out from under his bed to stare as well.

Drew froze, slowly lowering the inhaler. She turned to face Sadie. "What. Are you. Doing here?!" she snapped.

"Well, Lacy here said that Carter and I could visit," Sadie retorted, stepping forward so hard Adilah thought her combat boots would crack the polished floor. "What, you're not in charge of this camp, are you?"

Carter gulped, pulling awkwardly at the sleeve of his shirt. Lacy looked ready to bolt, as did Delun. Lexi looked like Christmas had come early. Adilah just wanted to hide from Drew's wrath.

"Unfortunately, I am not. But if I was, it would probably prevent soggy pieces of trash like _you _from coming in."

"Aw, Drew, that's so sweet! I didn't know you cared!"

As the two girls exchanged insults, they walked closer and closer to each other, as though circling for a showdown. Lexi had lifted up a small camera from somewhere, obviously excited to see Drew get taken down. Delun sank down slowly besides his bed, and Paul yanked both of his earbuds out. Carter shuffled nervously, and Lacy's eyes darted from Sadie to Drew. Adilah did the same.

"Um, I think I'll just step out now," Carter muttered, his hand fumbling for the knob behind him.

Sadie ignored her brother. "Really, I didn't know you had it in you to be so benign!"

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Sadie. Such as the fact that I can beat you fair and square."

She laughed. "In a Who's-The-Bitchiest contest, maybe. Otherwise, we all know that the person walking home with the prize is me."

"Yes, especially in the Ugliest Face Tournament."

Lexi covered her mouth with her free hand, her eyes widening in a mix of shock and glee. Paul grimaced, covering his ears as if bracing himself for what was coming next. Lacy looked shocked.

"Okay. Let me know when they're done," Carter decided, and opened the door, stepping out onto the porch of the cabin. He quickly shut the door behind him.

Adilah covered her face up with her magazine, wishing to be outside as well. Maybe she could find Jovver and hang out with him for a bit. But Drew and Sadie were between her and the door, and she was certain that getting near them right now would not be very good for her health.

***I'M ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE, THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE, OF HELL***

Carter shuddered violently as he closed the door. Whenever Sadie had a go at someone, it never ended well. And he knew how much hatred his sister had for Drew. If he had a penny for every time she had trash-talked her after returning from school, Carter would quite possibly be the richest teenager in America.

"Are you a new camper?" a sudden voice behind him asked.

"Agh!" Carter jumped, and whipped around to see who was talking to him.

A boy stood there, maybe a little younger than Carter. His hair was short, yet messy, and his skin had the faintest olive tint to it, along with a freckle here or there. He wore a dark blue denim jacket over a Fall Out Boy shirt, with black skinny jeans completing his "goth boy" ensemble. He even had black Converse to complete the outfit. He tilted his head and peered at Carter, almost frowning.

But what really got Carter was the sword hanging from his belt. It was unsurprisingly black, although it somehow looked _colder. _It hung casually, as if the guy put it there all the time. It was also a scary-looking sword, with wicked edges and points. It was almost like just looking at it could cut you.

In short: The boy looked pretty scary, and Carter was glad that he hadn't laid him six feet under yet.

But there was something _familiar _about the boy. Carter thought it was silly to think so, but he somehow reminded him of Anubis. Obviously, the guy looked a bit like him, which was more than creepy. But there was something in the air around him, something that nearly whispered of death and betrayal. It was also the aura that had surrounded Walt after he started hosting Anubis. There was no way that this guy could be hosting the jackal-headed god, of course, or be him himself. But there was _something…_

The boy blinked. "Are you done staring?"

Carter jumped again, and shook his head rapidly. "Um, sorry! It's just that…you reminded me of someone."

The other boy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "That's not something I hear every day."

Carter relaxed. Maybe he was slightly unsettling, but the familiar aura around the boy was just that: familiar. He felt as though he could just slip into it and not be bothered at all. Now _here_ was someone he could talk to, without feeling too bothered. "Heh, yeah. I guess not."

"So. Are you a new camper?"

Carter shook his head again. "Me? Oh, no. I'm just visiting. You see, my sister wanted her friend Lacy to show her around here, and I just got dragged along for the ride, I guess."

"I see." Something changed in the boy then. He stood up straighter, looking more defensive. His eyes narrowed oh-so-slightly as well. "And where is your sister?"

"She's having a go with someone in there." Carter pointed back at the cabin. "Drew Something-or-other. Sadie knows her from school as well." He sighed. "You won't believe what I've heard about her."

"I stay here with her. Not a lot of people like her."

"Yeah, I guessed." Carter walked down the porch to the boy, who glanced at him as though nervous. Carter ignored that and stuck out his hand. "My name's Carter. What's yours?"

The black-haired boy stared down at Carter's outstretched hand, like he wasn't used to strangers being nice to him. Or anyone, for that matter. Finally, he took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nico."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Nico! From what've I seen of the camp so far, it's pretty neat!"

Nico shuffled his feet awkwardly, and Carter realized that he was still holding his hand. He dropped it. "It is pretty cool," Nico agreed.

Carter smiled again. "Yeah. Wish I could go here. But, well…I don't exactly qualify."

"I guessed."

"So, what exactly do you guys do here? I heard that the camp isn't like your average camp."

Nico muttered what sounded like "You have no idea" under his breath, before speaking up. "Yeah, it's a bit different than the usual camp program. We have a few, uh, self-defense classes, along with some extreme obstacle course stuff."

"Oh, so that explains that." Carter nodded at his sword.

"Excuse me?"

"Your sword. The long, black, scary-looking one?"

Nico looked a bit panicked. "You see it?"

"Yeah, I do." Carter knit his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why?"

"No reason." Nico coughed awkwardly and gave him a weird look. "Sure you don't qualify? You don't have a missing or dead parent?"

_Well, my mom died releasing the goddess of cats and sealing the serpent of Chaos into a famous London landmark, meanwhile my dad died when he took the spirit of the god of the dead into his body and is now-technically-a recycled god. Other than that, my parents are alright. I talk with them at least every other week. Sometimes we have tea and cookies and watch Ammit devour people's hearts and souls. Just your typical evening of quality family time. _Of course, Carter didn't say that out loud. In fact, he felt like he shouldn't say anything about his parents being dead. He didn't know why. It was just a gut instinct. "No, they're perfectly alive and well."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Haven't seen anything…weird?"

"Like what?"

"Things that people say aren't there. Like…creepy things."

_Do cheese demons count? _But again, Carter didn't say anything. "Um, no. Unless if you count my sister's Ribena drinks."

Nico seemed to relax, but he still eyed Carter suspiciously. "Just as well."

"What was all that about?"

"Nothing. It's just, um, a thing that we campers like to do to mo-to outsiders."

"Come again?"

"A game we play to see how fast we can weird them out. I don't really do it much."

Carter knew that Nico was lying, and that he had been about to say something other than "outsiders." But he didn't push it. He had a feeling that Nico was one of those people who got scary real quick when pushed. "I get it. My sister and I do that occasionally."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When my parents-When my parents are off on trips-they do some work with archaeology-Sadie and I stay with our uncle. He runs an orphanage down in Brooklyn, and we know some of the kids there. We like to do this thing where we creep people out that come in sometimes."

"Isn't that driving customers away?"

"No, we only do it to the mean-looking people. There was this one guy that looked meaner than a crocodile, so Sadie put on her best British accent and stuck her hand in a glass of water, pretending to talk to her imaginary missing sister that was secretly a goddess. The guy left shortly after that."

Nico left out a short little laugh, and Carter nearly jumped in surprise again. There was a smile on the other boy's face, and it almost looked like as though it didn't belong. He looked like a different person entirely when happy. "Your sister sounds like a riot," he commented.

"You have no idea. There was this other time, when she and her boyfriend, Walt, acted like they were being chased by bees and arrows that weren't there to drive this crazy lady away. Then Walt acted like he died and they had a very dramatic Romeo and Juliet moment. I'm honestly surprised her school still accepts her."

"Yeah, sounds like it."

"Anyone here do anything like that?"

"This one guy. He acted like his girlfriend just fell off a cliff fighting some monster, to drive some military-like guy away. His girlfriend went along with it, surprisingly. She usually doesn't do things like that."

"That's very creative of him."

"We all think he's a bit off in the head."

"Who isn't?"

Nico half-smirked. "Not a lot of people."

"Yeah." Carter decided to change the subject. "So, what cabin are you staying in?"

"My-Oh, yeah."

Nico turned around and pointed at a dark cabin a few yards off. Honestly, Carter wasn't surprised. The cabin almost seemed to have been built for Nico. The logs were a pure, rich black, the porch built with almost the same material. The door was a shiny black, with a bright green doorknob. There were also, surprisingly, torch-holders on the outside of the cabin, although they didn't appear to be lit. The roof was a dark gray, and slanted off at sharp edges. In short, it looked like the creepy cabin you would expect to find in horror movies that were set in the mountains.

Carter stepped up behind Nico so he could see the cabin better, and was surprised to find Nico shuffling a little bit away from him. What was so wrong with Carter?

"That's my cabin," the black-haired boy stated.

"Oh, I see." Carter nodded. "Sadie commented on that cabin looking badass and demanded to move in. Lacy had to say no."

"Smart move. I didn't design it myself, so it came out sorta weird. There were actually coffins in there at some point."

"Are you serious?"

Nico shook his head. "Nope."

"Did you have to, what, _sleep_ in them?"

"Yes."

Carter laughed. "Wow. Whoever designed that cabin has got a wicked sense of humor."

"I still don't know who did it. My sister almost refused to step foot in it once she saw it."

"Your sister? Is she here?"

"Um, no. Hazel's in California, with her boyfriend."

"Ah. Older sibling?"

"Younger, actually."

Carter knit his brow together in confusion. "Shouldn't you be in the same camp, then?"

"No, uh, there's a sister camp to this. Our father…arranged for us to be in different camps."

"That's odd."

Nico shrugged. "We still get to talk a lot. Our father is just kinda…estranged."

"I understand. My uncle was sorta weird when Sadie and I first stayed with him, but now he's practically our second father."

"Lucky," Nico muttered.

Carter chose to ignore that. "Did you redesign the beds?"

"Yeah, we got regular bunks now. Just as well, I was starting to feel like Dracula."

"I bet. Dark cabin, coffin beds, it's like something out of the Addams Family."

Nico turned around to give him a confused look. "The what?"

Carter raised an eyebrow. "The Addams Family? You know, that old TV show, with the movie? And the creepy family?"

Nico scrunched his face up in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Dude. You _have _to see it. I can show you sometime!"

"I'm not sure if I can-"

"Oh, c'mon! You could just come over to my place sometime. I have all the episodes on DVD."

Nico gave him another look.

Carter sighed. "Look, Nico, if it's just an issue with the camp, I'm sure we could work it out! I mean, people have to leave for school and stuff, right? Hey, what school do you go to?"

"Do you usually come on to people so fast?" Nico asked.

Carter blinked. "Sorry?"

"You're just being really friendly and stuff, and you want me to come over to your place…"

Carter had a sudden image of a flaming Zia in his mind, and he panicked, waving his hands and arms about in a flurry. "What-No! No, no, no! Sorry! I'm not coming on to you! I have a girlfriend already, and-"

"Hey, Nico!"

Two other guys jogged up to them. One was short, with messy dark brown hair and creamy brown skin. He looked like the kid the teacher would take one look at and immediately plop into the front row seat, so they could keep an eye on him. His eyes even sparkled with mischief.

The other guy was a lot taller, with dark brown skin and surprisingly curly blonde hair. He had a bandage across his nose, and there were faint bruises at the edges of the bandage, as though he had been punched there. His sky blue eyes looked Carter up and down, although he didn't make eye contact with him. Carter didn't like that feeling he got when the blue-eyed boy did that. It was almost like he was being scanned-scanned for approval?

"What's chilling?" The first boy offered his fist out for a fist bump.

Nico obliged. "Not much. Where's Lou?"

"Hanging out near the forest with Miranda, Alex, and Laura. Alex was on the verge of just shoving their heads together and making them kiss, and Laura was prepared to hold zher back, last I checked," the blonde boy answered.

Nico scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No offense, but I'm glad Alex isn't in my cabin."

"Yeah, zhe can get pretty intense."

Carter watched the exchange, thoroughly confused. Who were these people? And, was it just him, or did Nico look shy when he glanced at the blonde boy?

The blonde boy then turned back to Carter. "Hey, are you a new camper?"

What _was_ it with these people and assuming that he was a new camper? "Um, no. My sister Sadie is friends with Lacy-if you know her, I'm just assuming that you do-and wanted Lacy to show her around camp. Then she decided to bring me along."

The boys reacted in the same way that Nico had: standing up straighter, shifting their positions, and narrowing their eyes. "Where are they?" the blonde boy asked.

Carter pointed to the cabin behind him. "In Lacy's cabin. Sadie's having a smackdown with Drew What's-Her-Face, and I decided to stay out of it."

"Drew's getting her ass whipped? This I gotta see." The brunette boy stepped towards the cabin, but the blonde boy pulled him back.

"You've seen Drew. I'm sure it's not very pretty in there right now. Besides, Lexi's probably filming it as we speak."

"Yeah, she probably is."

Carter cleared his throat. "Anyways, I decided to leave before I got dragged into that as well, and that was when I walked into Nico here." Carter then gestured to the aforementioned teenager, who hunched his shoulders up in embarrassment. "He was just telling me more about the camp."

"Wow, Nico, you're making friends by yourself! Great job!" The brunette boy held his hand out for a high five. Nico just glared at him.

"Don't push it," he replied.

The brunette pouted, muttering "You're no fun," before turning to face Carter. "Great to meet you! I'm Cecil, one of the coolest kids in the entire camp." He offered his hand out for a high five.

Carter hesitantly smacked his palm with his own. "Carter."

"Ha! See, Nico? That's how you do it."

"No, Cecil."

"Hi. I apologize for my weird friends. I'm Will, by the way." The blonde boy stuck his hand out, and Carter shook it.

"Well, you heard me say that my name is Carter already, so I'm not gonna repeat that. It'll just be redundant."

Will nodded, before pulling his hand away. Carter let his swing down to his side. "So, what were you and Nico talking about?" he asked.

_Is he jealous or something? _"Not much. He did explain a lot of the camp to me, and even pointed out his cabin to me. In fact, I was just telling him to watch the Addams Family sometime, since I referenced it and he didn't get it."

"He offered for me to come over and watch it, actually," Nico spoke up.

Will's eyes narrowed as he looked at Carter, "Like a date?" he asked.

Carter groaned. "No! Just like a hangout."

"Ooh, Nico's got a daaate~" Cecil teased.

"Shut up, Cecil!"

"Besides," Carter added, "I have a girlfriend already. Her name is Zia, and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate me dating other people."

"Riiiiiiight."

"Is he always like this?"

"Yeah." Nico nodded. "He is."

"Hey!" Cecil protested.

Will sighed.

"Do I need to bring her over to prove it to you?"

"Yes!" Cecil exclaimed at the same time Nico and Will said, "No." The two boys then looked at each other incredulously as they realized that they had said the exact same thing at the exact same time.

Cecil laughed at them. "Jinx!" he shouted.

"Shut up, Cecil," Will muttered, glancing away from Nico. Nico glanced away from Will as well. Was it Carter's imagination, or were the two boys blushing?

And then it clicked. "Hey, are you two dating or something?"

Nico and Will turned to stare at him. "What?" Will asked, while Nico's face scrunched back into confusion.

"Well, based on how you guys are acting, plus the whole 'coming on to me' thing and how you look sorta mad at me. I'm just guessing though. But if you are, I'm not judging."

"Who looks mad at you?"

"Um, Will."

Nico looked from Will to Carter. Will looked flustered. "Mad?" Nico asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, mad. Like, sorta jealous. Now, I'm not trying to come in between you guys, sorry if it seemed like I was."

Nico waved him off. "No, no. It's alright. I just…" He turned to face Will. "Why are you mad?"

"Did it seem like I was? Sorry. I'm still a bit ticked off after the…" Will tapped the bandage on his nose. "…incident from last week."

"Wow," Cecil muttered. "That was so terrible, it deserves less Oscars then all of the Oscars Leonardo DiCaprio has."

"Shut it, Cecil!" Will snapped.

Cecil held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, bro!"

Nico kept on staring at Will, frowning.

Carter crossed his arms, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Should I just go, or…"

"Hell-_o!"_

Another boy appeared next to Carter, and he had to stifle a yelp. The boy chuckled, and Carter was suddenly struck by how much he seemed like Cecil. Sure, his hair and skin were lighter, and his eyes were dark blue instead of brown, but he still looked like a troublemaker, and the face shape was eerily similar.

"What's going on? A lover's row?"

"Hey, Connor!" Cecil greeted. "Not sure, it's just them being awkward mostly. Where's Travis?"

"Out with Katie." The newcomer groaned. "He forbade me from crashing his date. How could he?!"

"You nearly painted her hair green last time."

"Oh, yeah." Connor then turned to face Carter, He frowned, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh, that's Carter. You know, one of Lacy's friends. Maybe she showed you a picture~" Cecil answered in a sing-song voice.

Connor scowled down at him. "Thank you for that." Then he stuck out his hand towards Carter. "Nice to meet another one of Lacy's friends! I'm Connor."

"Carter," Carter muttered, shaking his hand. Connor grinned back wildly.

"Oh, Connor!"

Footsteps ran down wooden steps behind Carter, and he turned to see Lacy and Sadie approaching. Thank the gods. He wanted out of this crazy camp.

"Hey, Lacy! I was just talking to Carter here, he seems pretty cool."

"I know!" she giggled.

"Hey. I whipped Drew's ass. She's licking her wounds in the background as we speak. Lexi-or whatever her name was-is replaying the video and laughing," Sadie said as she hooked her arm through Carter's. She then frowned at the scene in front of her. Will and Nico were deep in conversation, Connor was chatting with Lacy, and Cecil was jokingly making a heart between the two conversing pairs. "What happened?"

"I don't think you would believe me if I told you," Carter answered.

"Try me. We can talk about it on the way back. I'm ready to blow this popsicle stand, honestly."

"Great!" Carter tapped Lacy on her shoulder, and she turned to face him. "Hey, uh, Lacy? We sorta have to be going."

"Oh! Of course! Hey, Connor, I gotta take them back to camp, I'm sure that their aunt is waiting-"

"I'll come with you!" Connor smiled down at Lacy, who smiled, pleased. Her cheeks had the lightest dusting of pink on them.

"Um, okay then." Carter waved awkwardly at Cecil. "Bye, I guess?"

Cecil waved back. "Bye! I'll tell Will and Nico bye for you." They were still deep in conversation.

"Okay…"

"Come on! The hill should be this way…"

Sadie and Carter followed Lacy and Connor to the hill that was the entrance to camp, where the Kanes' ride home would be waiting. Along the way, Sadie started recounting word-for-word each insult that she and Drew had exchanged. Lacy and Carter cringed, while Connor laughed and said that he would have to use them sometime.

When they got to the car, Carter and Sadie said bye once again, and Sadie opened the door to the passenger seat. Carter grumbled, but slid into the backseat.

Once they were buckled safely in, Bast, their driver, practically floored the gas pedal. Sadie and Carter were thrown back against their seats. "What the hell?!" Sadie yelped.

"I don't want to have to spend more time there than I have to," Bast growled, yanking the wheel abruptly to the right. "They ruined us."

"What do you mean?" Carter asked, desperately leaning to the left so he could stay upright.

Bast snorted. "Carter, please. That boy you met out here? Didn't you recognize the campers' shirts?! They're bad news. Stay. _Away._ From them."

***Well, that was dramatic. And now, a short linebreak and a short POV.***

"Well, they left fast. Are we really that bad?" Connor commented, as he and Lacy watched the car speed away.

Lacy looked up at Connor, barely suppressing a small grin. "No, it's just you."

"Aren't you nice?" Connor joked, as he turned and started to jog down the hill, Lacy laughed and followed him.

"You know how sweet I can be," she teased him, as they started to weave through the supply sheds.

"Yes, very." Then he stopped walking in front of a shed. "Um, Lacy?"

Lacy felt her heart pound as she stared up at Connor. "Yeah?" she asked.

Connor tapped two of his fingers together nervously. "Um, I just wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, um, I was just wondering if…"

"If what?"

"If, sometime maybe, you wanted to…"

"Wanted to what?"

"Oh, for Kellogg's cereal's sake!" a muffled voice shouted, causing both demigods to jump into the air and whip their heads around as they looked for the source.

"Who said that?" Lacy yelped.

The door to the shed behind Connor flew open. Travis, Katie, Alex, Laura, Miranda, and Lou Ellen stepped out, all looking rather disgruntled.

"Bro!" Connor whined. "What are you doing?"

"Look, bro. I'm _sick_ of hearing you complaining about being 'too shy' to ask Lacy out all the time!" Travis complained.

"And I'm sick of hearing Travis complain about it!" Katie added.

"And we're sick of hearing Katie complain about it," Laura said, and Miranda nodded.

"And, Lacy, Lexi's complained to us in the infirmary about you not trying to go out with Connor. Your entire cabin secretly thinks you're crazy for not going for it!" Alex exclaimed.

Lou Ellen nodded. "Yeah, Will's complained about Lexi complaining, And Miranda's complaining too."

Lacy looked from Lou Ellen to Miranda to Laura to Alex to Katie to Travis, and then all over again. "Wait, what?"

"For the love of Shakespeare." Alex cursed in Spanish. "Drag them in."

"With pleasure!" Travis grinned. He yanked a very confused Connor into the supply shed. Connor lost his balance and tripped, yelping.

"What's going on?" Lacy cried, as Lou Ellen wrapped her fingers around Lacy's wrist and dragged her into the supply shed.

"Well, we aren't getting anywhere with Nico and Will, so we decided to focus on other couples," Lou Ellen replied as she shoved Lacy into the shed, where Connor was.

"Hopefully, this will work. After all, it failed with Solangelo," Katie commented, as Travis slammed the door shut on Lacy and Connor. The lock clicked, and the two demigods were left in the dark.

"…Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do? I don't think they're gonna let us out for a while."

"Hang on, I can try to pick the lock."

A sound that sounded like shuffling moved past Lacy to the door, and a small scratching noise was heard.

"Hey, um…"

"What is it?"

"What were you gonna ask me?"

The scratching stopped. "Um, if you wanted to go out to the movies sometime?"

Lacy was glad the dark was covering up her red cheeks. "Oh."

"I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"No, no! I mean…" Lacy took a shaky breath. "I would love to, Connor!"

There was a heavy pause. When Connor replied, Lacy could practically hear the grin in his voice. "It's a date then?"

Lacy nodded, smiling back, even if he couldn't see it. "Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

**Back when I was writing "APOLLO!" the co-writer, MrsEDarcy, gave both Octavian and Drew asthma, so I decided to touch back on that as a tribute to her. (Also celebration of Octavian's death woo). And Conacy is canon! Conacy is real! Hallelujah! I reused the closet idea because I am so creative, and my brain cells are frying because finals.**

**Okay, so rereading the Son of Sobek, I realized that it was after the giant quest to defeat Gaea, since Percy was judged to be around 17. Carter also said that he was a high school freshman (We're like the same age what), so I'm going off that. And Sadie should be starting eighth grade? I think. I don't know.**

**This was actually the first time I've written anything directly involving Kane Chronicles, I think. Well, except for that one story back in seventh grade that I don't talk about. Did it even involve the Kane Chronicles? All I remember is someone getting chased by a dragon, and me getting shot through the heart by an arrow. Basically a huge crossover mess. Also this crossover I once had planned with PJO and KC, about everyone's kids…**

**It's also been awhile since I read the books, I had to go read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia, read the graphic novel for the Red Pyramid, and then flip through the Son of Sobek. I still need to read the staff of Serapis though. Sorry if I got anything wrong!**

**Speaking of the wiki, there was a poll for the favorite ship (Sadie/Anubis won), and one of the choices was Walt's boat amulet. I nearly choked laughing.**

**Anyways, if you spoiled, I warned you, but I'm sorry anyways.**

**And I'm still waiting for someone to call me an old-timer. I mean, I've had this account since 2012, and I'm pretty sure at least five of you guys have made your account in the past six months. I mean, I remember that thing going on where everyone wrote stories about the gods being kids and the demigods had to take care of them. Hell, I helped write one myself! Those good old days, back when we all thought Nico was straight…**

**Okay, ready for more favorite lines! I don't know why, but they just make me ridiculously happy, like "omg I said a thing and someone liked the thing." Really boosts my self-esteem. And probably my ego too but eh whatever.**

**Also, shout-out to my friend. She started reading my fics. If you're reading this right now, Shi, I'm dreadfully sorry. Also don't damage my copy of the Mark of Athena.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	19. Chapter 19: The Wrong Tickets

**See author's note below for important notes.**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Guest: Carter and Sadie will always bring the awesomeness. In my opinion, at least.**

**Great T'Phon: Your brevity has been excused. Yes, she did.**

**Guest: Someone requested a crossover, and I obliged.**

**Pi not Pie: Thank you. Yes, I have explained it before. Do you mean Alex? I use zhe/zher because Alex identifies as non-binary, and zhe/zher is a gender-neutral pronoun. I use it on my non-binary days myself. And here is the next chapter.**

**Booklover: That is what every Percy Jackson fan thinks about Hiro. Thank you. Although I could never be anywhere close to Rick Riordan.**

**Guest: I know that now. But thank you for pointing it out anyways.**

**This is another idea of mine. I'm sorry that this isn't someone's request. I won't have any other ideas of my own after this chapter. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Big Hero Six**_**, **_**Ouija**_**, Laika, or any other movie or company mentioned in this chapter. I also do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or the Heroes of Olympus. They all belong to their respected owners. I only own Delun, Jovver, Adilah, and Catherine, another personal OC of mine.**

**C**hapter 19: The Wrong Tickets

"Anything else?"

Lou Ellen tapped her index finger against her lip, as she squinted at the choices up on the electronic menu. "And then…hmm…a lemon-lime slushie."

"Coming right up, miss! Small, medium, or large?" the peppy cashier asked. Her name tag read _Catherine._

"Um…A small."

"Excellent choice! That'll be $21.69!"

Lou Ellen leaned back with a grin, as the cashier turned around to start preparing her requested slushie. Another was cranking the popcorn machine, pouring in the golden brown kernels that would pop up into the magical buttery white fluff. She started digging around in her pocket for the money that she had, along with what her friends had given her to pay for their snacks.

So far, it had all been going according to plan. Lou Ellen and Cecil had gotten permission to go to the movies from Chiron and Mr. D with Will and Nico. They had been wondering if they should've asked some other people to come with them, but decided that any others would ruin it. Plus, most of the people that they knew had seen _Big Hero Six _already, which was the only movie that Chiron would probably let them go see.

When they had arrived at the movie theater, running close to movie time, Lou Ellen had taken snack orders from the group of friends-Will wanted a lemonade with white cheddar popcorn, Nico a Sprite and Cherry Twizzlers, and Cecil demanded popcorn, M&amp;M's, and a Coke (Lou Ellen was scared). She herself was content with a slushie and some Skittles. They all gave her the money that they would be using for snacks. Cecil had offered to pay for all of them, but that idea was quickly vetoed. They didn't need any cabins angry at them because their money had been snitched.

They split up once they got there: The boys went to the ticket line to pay for everyone's tickets, and Lou Ellen walked up to the snack bar line to get the snacks. Then Cecil would take Will and Nico down to the theater where the movie would be playing, and tell them to go find seats and wait for him and Lou.

Lou Ellen and Cecil were planning to dawdle in the theater lobby for a few minutes, waiting for Nico and Will to find seats that were together and alone. Then they would sneak into the theater and sit far away from them, so that the two boys could enjoy the movie alone. That was if they couldn't see Will and Nico in the darkened theater. If they could and there were empty seats near them, they still wouldn't go near them. But if there wasn't any empty seats, they'd pop over and say that they'd find somewhere else to sit, and give both boys their snacks and drinks. Lou Ellen and Cecil would then proceed to find other seats.

If they ended up having to avoid them, Lou Ellen and Cecil would find them after the movie and apologize, saying that they couldn't find them anywhere, and give them their food as an apology. Hopefully, the time alone would make them realize their true feelings for each other, and they wouldn't be too upset…Emphasis on the "too." Will was scarily territorial about his lemonade.

The knocking of her fingernail against a quarter shook Lou Ellen out of her thoughts, and she pulled it out. She studied her finger and frowned. The space galaxy nail polish that her mother had sent to her for her birthday was beginning to wear off. Shame, it was her favorite nail polish. If you chanted "Nebula star galaxy comet" three times while waving the hand or foot with the nail polish on it around, the polish would shimmer and move, with shooting stars and planets and entire galaxies revolving around each other.

"Okay, so that's a quarter…" Lou Ellen muttered, and stuck her hand back in her pocket to pull out a ten, a five, a one, and a stick of gum. Transferring them to her other hand, she reached into her other pocket for another five, six quarters, and two dimes. She placed them on the counter and started to count them out.

_Okay…That's a ten, and a five…and a one…so sixteen? Yeah, I think. They're not gonna accept gum as currency, are they? Nope, probably not. That's another five…What's sixteen plus five? Twenty-something…Twenty-one? Okay, let's say it is. And the quarters…Hmm, there's a lot of reflections on this counter. I can see the hot guy who was working at the other register at the slushie station. He's making a slushie. Hope it's mine…ARGH! Focus! Miranda will murder you! Okay, okay, okay. Quarters are twenty-five cents, and there's seven here. Um, seventy-five? Thirty-two? No, no. Seven times twenty-five…Twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five, a hundred, a hundred twenty-five, a hundred fifty, and a hundred seventy-five! Woo! And dollars are, like, a hundred cents, so that's a dollar seventy-five. Wow, I'm smart. So, twenty-one and a dollar seventy-five…Twenty-two dollars and seventy-five cents? And the dimes…That's twenty-two dollars and ninety-five cents! Wait, is ninety-five more than sixty-nine? Think so. I'll just pay…_

"Lou! Hey, Lou Ellen!"

The blonde girl jerked up at the sound of her name. "Cecil?" she called back, turning around.

"Hey!" Cecil was jogging up towards her, although it looked more like he was running because of his speed. He skidded to a stop next to her, barely out of breath. "Got them in the movie theater. They're trying to find seats right now. The theater's a bit packed, though, so I doubt that we'll all be able to sit next to each other."

"That's great! Think that we'll be able to pull it off?"

"With the movie we picked? Definitely."

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow at that. How would _Big Hero Six _help like that? Besides Disney being one of Will's favorite franchises, next to DreamWorks. Disney was good, Lou Ellen had to admit, but she wouldn't mind seeing a Laika movie over a Disney one.

"Excuse me, miss, but your food is ready!"

Lou Ellen turned around to see Catherine pushing the slushie onto the counter, next to the two bags of popcorn, the candy, and the drinks. The cashier grinned at Lou. "Is your money ready?" she asked.

"Oh, yes!" Lou Ellen picked the money off from the counter and scooped it into her palm, before dropping the bills and coins into Catherine's outstretched hand. The cashier thanked her and started to sort the money into the cash register, scooping out a few coins that Lou Ellen supposed were her change.

"Oh, yes. Come to me, my sweet, salty, buttery, fizzy snacks," Cecil moaned, making grabby motions with his hands.

"Your boyfriend like this a lot?" Haruhi asked, glancing up from where she had been counting out pennies.

Lou Ellen made a retching noise. "Oh, him? No, no. I am _never _going to date him, _ever._"

"Wow, Lou, nice to know that you care. I am deeply wounded!" Cecil joked, clamping a hand to his chest in mock shock.

"And, um…" Lou Ellen hesitated. "I'm kind of seeing someone else already. Her name's Miranda…"

"Ah." Catherine nodded. "Sorry about that. I just kinda of assume people are together. Delun keeps on telling me to stop, but he's just as bad as I am!" She stretched out her hand. "Here's your change! Should be twenty-three cents…"

The coins clinked together as they fell into Lou Ellen's outstretched palm, and her fist closed around them. "Thank you!" she said, and moved her hand into her pocket to deposit of the coins.

"Wait a second…" Cecil snapped his fingers multiple times near his head, so as to help him remember whatever it was that he was recalling. "Delun who? Because we know one, actually. Remember, Lou?"

Lou Ellen's eyes widened. "Oh! Delun! Yeah, I remember him!"

"Wait a sec," Catherine interrupted. "You wouldn't happen to go to the camp that he's in, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, think we do. What's the name of the camp?"

"Camp Half-Blood."

Cecil clapped his hands together and pointed at Catherine. "Atta girl! That's the one!"

Catherine laughed. "It's great to meet you guys! Always wanted to meet more of your…" She blushed. "Well, he told me not to tell anyone else, but…"

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow. "About our heritage?"

Catherine nodded sheepishly. "It just slipped out one day. Don't worry, I hadn't told anyone else! I do think it's a bit cool, though."

"It's alright, just don't tell anyone." Lou Ellen looked Catherine up and down. "You know, you could actually pass as a camper. Couldn't she, Cecil?"

Cecil frowned and nodded, stroking his chin. "Yeah, actually. The blonde hair, the gray eyes, you could be a daughter of Athena.

Catherine snorted. "Yeah, Delun tells me that a lot. He's a sweetheart!"

"He is pretty nice, considering his cabin," Lou Ellen agreed.

"Oh. My. God. Well, I should say that as plural, but I _know_! He sends me videos sometimes. I saw that one from last week, with Drew and that other girl. His half-sister Lexi filmed it, apparently."

"Oh, yeah, Lexi. She and Adilah are pretty chill, too, even if Lexi's a tad on the loopy side and Adilah's scared of her own shadow."

"Oh, Adilah! Is she still there? I've met her a few times, along with Jovver, Hansika, and some others. Can you tell me hello for her?"

Lou Ellen nodded. "We sure will!"

Catherine beamed. "Great! Man, if I had known who you guys were sooner, I would've let all of your food-" She gestured to the wide arrangement of snacks. "-Be on the house!"

"Oh, no! It's alright! We should be going to the theater anyways, the movie will be starting in a few minutes. C'mon, Cecil, grab some stuff!"

Lou Ellen grabbed her Skittles and slushie, along with the Sprite, Twizzlers, and M&amp;M's. Cecil took the other two drinks and the popcorn. Catherine continued to talk.

"Who are you here with?"

"Our friends, Will and Nico. Guessing you know about them, too?"

"Yes, I have. It's insane! I've heard about all those stunts you guys have pulled on them, along with any video that's been sent to me. The one with the flirting and that guy commenting on the entire thing like an Animal Channel narrator? _Priceless_. I nearly died!"

"That one's sold the most so far, according to the filmmakers," Cecil grunted, struggling to balance the bags of popcorns and the drinks.

"No surprise. Hey, what movie are you guys seeing, anyways?"

Lou Ellen answered, "_Big Hero Six_. I can't wait!" at the same moment that Cecil exclaimed, "_Ouija_! I heard that it's terrifying!"

Lou Ellen froze, before slowly turning her head to see Cecil's jaw drop into a perfect 'o.' "You. Did. _Not_," she snapped.

"I thought you said _Ouija_! I was going to ask why, since Will-"

"Why the _hell_ would I suggest a horror movie when I _know_ that Will hates them?!"

"To help scare him together with Nico?"

"I-no. I just…" Lou Ellen sighed. She could already feel a headache pounding behind her forehead. "You need to get your hearing checked."

"Sorry, Lou."

Catherine looked back and forth between them, her face scrunched up in confusion. "What just happened?" she asked.

"Cecil here was an idiot and bought the wrong tickets," Lou Ellen growled, ignoring Cecil's cry of protest at being called an idiot. We were going to see Big Hero Six, but now we're going to go see Ouija. Great going, Cecil. Now nobody's gonna hear the movie, since all that we'll be able to hear is Will shrieking in terror every time that a stair creaks in the movie. Great going, Cecil. Now an entire room full of people are gonna hate us, and not because they're Romans and we just got caught sneaking into their camp to disable their onagers."

"How is this my-Oh, yeah. I guess it is."

Lou Ellen sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's just go to the theater. I guess we'll have to sit with them after all. She hefted up her goodies and nodded at Catherine. "It was nice to meet you. I'll definitely say hello to Adilah for you. I'm sure that she's gonna be in town for a few more days, until that shoot is over."

"Thanks." Catherine smiled and nodded at them again, waving as Lou Ellen stomped away from her. Cecil muttered something under his breath and ran up to Lou Ellen.

"Look, man, I really am sorry," he apologized again. "I didn't think-"

"No, it's alright. What's done is done. I mean, we'll always have the chance to do this again, Big Hero Six isn't going out of theaters any time soon."

"So, I'm off the hook?" the son of Hermes asked hopefully,

"No way in Hades."

Cecil pouted. "But-"

"No."

He huffed. "Fine."

"So rude."

"Such huffy."

"Much mistake."

"Very sorry."

"Wow."

Cecil laughed, and Lou Ellen couldn't help but join him.

When they got to the ticket counter again, Lou Ellen held the rest of the drinks as Cecil dug their tickets out of his pocket. She handed them back to him when they were waved through.

They quickened their footsteps when they reached the doors that would open into the theater, and Cecil pushed them open with his shoulder. They sighed with relief to find that the movie had yet to begin. The screen was in the middle of a preview for some movie that Lou Ellen didn't recognize, although she did note that it had Reese Witherspoon in it. She was a good actress, and a few of Lou Ellen's siblings had a bit of a crush on her.

"You see them anywhere?" She whispered to Cecil, not daring to speak loud enough for every person in the theater to simultaneously turn around and go "SHHHHHH!" at them.

Cecil stood up on his tiptoes-which didn't really add much to his height-and squinted, tilting his head left and right as he looked around the darkened theater. Just when Lou Ellen was thinking that they really would have to follow their original plan before she knew about the movie change, he pointed up to the highest road and said, "There."

Looking up to where he was pointing, Lou Ellen saw that he was right. Will and Nico were seated right next to each other. Will was stretched out almost lazily in his chair, reminding Lou Ellen of a cat sleeping in the warm summer sunlight. Nico was leaning forward on his seat, almost as if he was afraid the chair would snap him up and eat him. She couldn't blame him. On either side of the boys, a chair was occupied by a jacket. They were obviously meant for Lou Ellen and Cecil.

"Well, let's get up there!" Lou Ellen whisper-shouted and started to climb up the stairs, making sure that her skirt didn't whip anyone sitting in the aisle seats or trip her up. Behind her, Cecil made grunting noises as he trudged up the steps, nearly tripping once or twice. Lou Ellen could easily hear his half-muttered Greek and Spanish curses.

"What took you so long?" Will yawned, stretching his arms out when they finally reached the top row. Nico nodded at them.

"We ran into this girl named Catherine. She's Delun's girlfriend. I didn't know he had a girlfriend!" Cecil explained, holding out the lemonade and popcorn to Will.

"Seriously? And thanks, bro." Will took his food, putting the drink in the slot next to him.

"Yeah, I know! Didn't think he had the guts to date anyone. He's pretty quiet for a son of Aphrodite. I mean, Mitchell and Paul…you know."

Lou Ellen scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Please. Delun gets plenty sassy in Arts and Crafts. You're just not there to see it." She handed Nico his Sprite and Twizzlers, which he accepted with a nod. He took his jacket off the seat next to him, and she grinned before sitting down.

"Hey, are you sure we're seeing _Big Hero Six_? Because these trailers don't look kid-appropriate, even though I'm sure they've seen worse these days," Nico asked.

Lou Ellen scowled. "I let Cecil handle the tickets. He goofed, and we're seeing _Ouija_ instead."

Will leaned forward, staring at Lou Ellen with a horrified expression. "We're seeing _what_?!" he hissed.

Lou Ellen shrugged. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger. If anything, shoot Cecil."

Will turned to face Cecil. "Dude! You know that I can't stand horror movies!" he whisper-shouted.

"I thought that Lou Ellen said Ouija, not Big Hero Six!" Cecil defended.

"That's, like, two syllables shorter! And two words shorter!"

"I'm sorry, man! Plus, I heard this isn't all that good. Maybe it won't be as bad as The Shining."

"Still no excuse?"

"What about The Shining?" Nico interjected.

"Will hasn't told you?" Cecil raised his eyebrows.

"Tell him!" Lou Ellen grinned cheekily. She loved this story.

"Cecil, please, don't."

"Second grade. Late July. Everyone was down at Capture the Flag, except for us. We snuck into my cabin and went to…" Cecil swallowed. "…Luke's bunk."

A shadow hung over the group at the mention of his name. They had heard the story that Annabeth and Percy had told, about what had happened up on Olympus. Grover and Thalia had also vouched for them. But, like most other campers, they still had their doubts. Many had said that they had lied, to try to defend Luke's honor, and that Percy had slew Kronos and Luke. Lou Ellen didn't think that they were right, but the story did sound a bit off. After all, the prophecy had stated a demigod of the elder gods, and Hermes wasn't counted as an elder god. There had been many speculations about if the prophecy was even completed. Lou Ellen thought it had been. The Oracle did release the Prophecy of Seven, and that had been the next Great Prophecy,

Cecil cleared his throat, shuffling around in his seat. "Anyways, we had heard him talking about some movies that he had under his bed, and we-"

"That was all you. You just dragged me into it, so that not all of the blame would be on you if you were caught," Will interrupted.

"Shut up, Cecil's having his story time with the kiddies, Will. So we found a box and pulled it out. And when I say it was full of horror movies, I mean it was literally _crammed_ with them. I'm surprised that there was air in there. We managed to pull out the top movie, which was The Shining. And I knew how my older sister Tohru's portable DVD player worked, so I turned it on, wrestled the DVD out of its case, and popped it in."

Will groaned, rubbing his temples. "Can somebody shut him up?" he grumbled.

Cecil cheerily ignored him. "So, there we are: Two eight-year-old's, sitting in an empty cabin, watching a Stephen King classic. I can't remember which scene it was that we started screaming. Will, do you?"

"I make every attempt possible to forget that it ever happened."

"Basically, we watched the entire movie, and nobody caught us because it was Capture the Flag, which neither of us were that good at anyways. The moment it was over, I slammed the DVD player shut, and we both just burst into tears."

"Why didn't you start crying sooner?" Nico wondered.

Cecil shrugged. "Too scared to, I guess. When everyone returned, it was to two little kids bawling in the Hermes cabin. Tohru burst out laughing, and Luke smacked her upside the head. The Apollo cabin didn't let me near Will for the rest of the month."

Will groaned again. Lou Ellen was trying not to choke on her slushie. When she glanced at Nico, she was a bit surprised to find him grinning. The boy seemed to have been retreating in on himself lately, and Lou Ellen wasn't sure why. She had asked about it, but he wouldn't answer her. She was glad to see him smiling. He needed it more than the rest of them all put together.

"Can we stop playing the 'Embarrass Will as badly as possible' game?" Will pleaded. The lights dimmed even further, and the quartet looked around in surprise.

"I wasn't done yet!" Cecil complained, as he ripped open his bag of M&amp;M's and slowly shook it out over his popcorn. Lou Ellen wrinkled her nose and took a loud slurp of her slushie. Cecil made a face at her.

"Let's just watch the movie, okay? I mean, it'll be fun to see Will get scared," Nico said.

"Wow, guys. Look what you've done. Now he's gonna try to scare me all the time," Will grumbled, moodily shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"All the more fun to prank you with, my dear!" Cecil cackled.

At least ten people turned around and shushed him loudly.

Lou Ellen dug her nails into the inside of her palm to keep from laughing. Maybe they had made a mistake, but so far, it didn't seem too huge of one.

She regretted that thought almost forty-five minutes later, after Will had yelped with fear for the fifty-third time in a row. It just wasn't funny anymore. Even Cecil wasn't smiling anymore, and, technically, it had been his idea to see the _Ouija_ movie.

_Gods damn it, Cecil, _she mentally cursed. _Gods __**damn **__it._

**A/N:**

**Guys, I'm really sorry to say this, but Solangelo will not become canon on Christmas.**

**The thing is, I do not have Internet access on my laptop at home. I mean, yes, I can access Word, so I can type chapters up and all of that jazz, but Internet is a no-no. I've been uploading chapters at my school, since it does have Wi-Fi. My dad blocked my Internet in June, because my brothers were watching things with bad words in them, so he basically put every device under the control of Linksys.**

**Now, this is weird, because only "bad" sites should be blocked. But for me, it has blocked everything besides YouTube and Google. So at home, I can do just about nothing. All I have is my Kindle and phone, and my phone shouldn't be connected to the Wi-Fi at all (He disconnected it in September). It only connects because I discovered the password to the Wi-Fi. And my Kindle doesn't catch mistakes, and my phone only catches spelling mistakes. Plus, typing on them will strain my hands too much, and I would barely be able to write.**

**I will also be in San Antonio for a few days after Christmas, and I highly doubt that I can bring my laptop there. We'll be seeing some family there.**

**I'll be writing over the break, I just will not be able to upload.**

**And, even if I could access the Internet, I would still have to push it back. I have had a **_**lot **_**of chapter requests, and if I rush some of them, they'll just come out really weird (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing you guys sorry). And I want to make you guys happy. I really do!**

**Which leads to this other point: I've been having thoughts about this story.**

**I've noted that I didn't get a lot of reviews last chapter. I mean, when I uploaded Chapter 17, I had about 320 reviews, and then it jumped up to like 372 or so. Over fifty reviews in one chapter? I was ecstatic!**

**But I didn't get as much this time-Only 406 reviews, which is what, 34 reviews? Of course, this makes me seem bratty, comparing reviews like this. *Dudley voice* But-But last year I had THIRTY-SEVEN!**

**I'm not trying to ask for reviews, honestly. In fact, the fact that I have over 400 is more than I could have ever dreamed of! You guys are amazing. Seriously.**

**But I've noted some things in reviews, like people asking when they'll get together, how many times this will take, and I have just one question:**

**Am I **_**failing **_**you guys?**

**I continued writing because you guys said you wanted more, so I gave you more. And, so far, this has been my most popular story, which makes me happier than I could ever describe. And the requests have been wonderful-honestly! I've had so much fun writing them!**

**But I want to make you guys happy. Which is funny, coming from me, since my mom calls me self-absorbed. But with an audience, people who actually enjoy what I create…I want to make them happy.**

**And I've tried. I've written chapters at 2am, written instead of studied, written instead of doing other things. I've ignored Doctor Who, ignored Tumblr (a feat in itself), and ignored a whole lot of things so I could work on this.**

**I shouldn't be doing that. I know. But writing is one of my passions, and I wanna make my readers happy. I've worked, because every follow makes me smile, every favorite makes me giggle, every review makes me flail my arms and lose my balance and fall off my bed. And I want to write every idea that I have, if it's gonna make you guys happy.**

**I've had plenty of ideas for stories. Obviously, the sequel to this story is one of them. I've also had one for where Will is accidentally turned into a kindergartener and Nico has to take care of him. And another one that I have had for a few months, which is Nico-centric. That one will also have a companion piece, set in the 1860's, right around the time of the Civil War. That's gonna require a fuckton of research, since I'll have to juggle around time periods and racial inequality. I even have a story idea that takes place after them, set in modern times, which revolves around a quest for the Oracle of Delphi. It'll feature one of my personal OC's as a character. And one mortal AU featuring Will, Nico, and a psychiatrist (not Will).**

**There's also all the one-shot ideas I have, like the toothbrush fic. I have an idea for where Will and Nico secretly date and the others find out, a college AU for Frank and Hazel, Will and Nico performing an exorcism on a Furby (don't ask), Nico getting high when he gets the wrong drugs in the infirmary, Nico and Will adopting a daughter, a mortal AU where Will is one of those helpline people and Nico needs help, a Nico-centric songfic one-shot, a mortal AU where Will discovers that Nico still cuts, and one set when everyone is grown up where Will nearly drops Hazel and Frank's daughter when she turns into a boa constrictor in his arms.**

**So, that's six fic ideas, and nine one-shot ideas. I've had eight one-shot ideas and two multi-chapter story ideas since October. Hell, I came up with the Nico-centric story and 1860's one **_**before**_** the Blood of Olympus came out. I've had them since, like, August! I'm gonna be busy writing. I'm nearly done with the first chapter of the Nico-centric one, in fact, along with a dream that will occur later in the story. I am willing to release sneak peeks to those interested. Although, be warned: They're much more serious than what I usually write.**

**But, my first priority will be this fic, foremost and always. I'm trying to please you guys. I really am. I'll be writing until I can barely read the screen and the clock tells me that I've stayed up all night, just so you guys can see the notification email that tells you I've updated, and causes you to break out into a wide grin.**

**I just have a few questions for you guys, before I finish this author's note:**

**In what ways am I a failure? How can I change them? How can I make you guys happy? How can I keep you guys from getting bored and leaving?**

**Please, guys. I'm giving it as much as I can. I just want to make you guys happy.**

**Happy Holidays.**

**I guess.**


	20. Chapter 20: Love Him When You Let Him Go

**I would like to apologize for the bottom author's note in the last chapter. I was going through one of my depressed slumps. I'll try to make sure that it doesn't happen again, although I can't really make many promises on that.**

**But thank you, for all of the support! I'm still not thoroughly convinced that my writing is that good, and I'm still a bit nervous about losing readers since it's like I'm dragging this out, but thanks for all of the kind words!**

**I did take some of you guys' advice and take it slow with this chapter. I didn't touch it until I got a good headway on with "A Common Memory," another Solangelo one-shot, and I wrote the beginning of a brutal murder scene that's at the end of one of the other multi-chapter fics I'll write. I even finished the Furby exorcism story (don't ask). It felt good to take a break!**

**In short: I'm much better, and got some other writings done. Thank you again!**

**Also, I realized that not a single person at camp is gonna pass up on the opportunity to catch Will and Nico underneath the mistletoe, so I decided to write something where Nico gets called down to the Underworld as the reason why Solangelo got no mistletoe time in this fic. But "Underneath the Mistletoe" makes up for that lol. This chapter is slightly angsty though.**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Guest: Thank you! Yeah, it's starting to get to the part where there's a bit more angst (the angst really kicks in in like Chapter 25 tho). Happy late holidays to you as well!**

**Pi not Pie: You're welcome! Hah, I'm not really one of those authors, more like one of those "at least once a week is my goal and if I'm lucky I can upload twice a week" authors. I'm trying to get it to move faster there's just so many requests to write out omg. Unfortunately, my mom already planned everything out down to the last detail, except for me not packing sweaters (I despise wearing long sleeves indoors except when they're pajamas or a bathrobe). And here is my next update! :D**

**Shipper: Will defended himself with "I don't trust him there's something about him" and Nico lectured him about judging others by their appearances. I might write that idk though.**

**Guest: I will forever make references okay.**

**Guest: Abby is that you yelling about why they aren't speaking I should've never told you that this account existed jeez.**

**Guest: Technically he caused them so I can't really. Eh not really bad advice though, thanks! And I hope that your Christmas was great too!**

**Guest: Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: If Rick Riordan wrote brutal murder scenes, they could never be published in the PJO books. And I mean brutal as in "internal organs on full display" brutal.**

* * *

**C**hapter 20: Only Know You Love Him When You Let Him Go

"And then," Jason finished, clumsily stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork, "Dakota ran out of the bathroom, and suddenly Justin Bieber music played out of it. Everyone was screaming, and Octavian actually fell out of the window. One of the best pranks ever."

Percy snorted, taking a sip of his water. "Please. That's nothing compared to what the Stolls alone have done."

Piper groaned. "Please, don't bring them up. If they hear us, they'll join the conversation, and they will _never _shut up about their pranks!" She stuck a forkful of pasta salad in her mouth.

Hazel shrugged. "I don't know. I hear so much about them that I wanna hear about their pranks. Especially if they're 'so much better' than the pranks us Romans pull!"

Calypso shook her head, absentmindedly twirling spaghetti around her fork. "Trust me, Hazel. You should not ask, for they'll make you listen to _every_ story about their pranks."

"Hear, hear!" Percy raised his glass into the air.

It was the third day of winter break, and Camp Half-Blood was almost overflowing. A few guest cabins were being constructed, along with the temples and cabins for the minor gods and goddesses that Jason had been busy overseeing. Camp Jupiter had arrived two days before, and so far both camps were getting along great. Lupa sat up with Chiron at the head table at every dinner, and the Romans mixed with just about every table, especially since the "Sit with your cabin" rule had been abolished.

On that particular Monday evening, the Seven, Calypso, Nico, and Reyna were seated all around the Zeus table, telling jokes and swapping stories about what had happened during the school year. Percy and Annabeth told one story about how three students at their school hotwired the PDA system to play children's songs all day, which had sparked a discussion about pranks. Jason, Frank, and Reyna, having been praetors at one point or another, had plenty to share.

"Yes, that is good and all, but I believe that Jason has not told you about the truly best pranks that have taken place at Camp Jupiter." Reyna roughly elbowed Jason.

He frowned. "What?"

Reyna glared at him. "The tea prank."

Jason hit himself up the head. "Oh, right! How could I forget?" He cleared his throat. "So, what happened is that the Mercury kids gathered up a bunch of tea bags-"

"Hold up, hold up," Hazel interrupted, holding out her hand. She glanced around the table, frowning. "Where's Nico?"

Silverware clattered to the table, as everyone turned to look for the son of Hades in the dining pavilion. But no trace of jet-black hair or dark gray and black clothing was to be found. Not even at the Hades table or the Apollo table, where Will occasionally got him-forced him, really-to eat.

"Wasn't he just here?" Leo pointed at a half-eaten burger on a plate, along with an apple and some sweet potato fries. "That's his meal, right? Why would he leave in the middle of a meal?"

"I don't know why," Annabeth said, standing up and pushing her plate away from her. "But we should go and find him."

The rest of the group of friends agreed, standing up with her. Soon, they had all spread across the camp.

"Nico?" Frank stuck his head in the sword-training arena, frowning when he realized that it was abandoned.

"Hey, Neeks!" Percy opened the door to the stables. "Have any of you guys seen Nico?"

Every pegasi in the stables shook their head.

"See him, Piper?" Jason asked as they glided above the outskirts of the forest.

"Nope." Piper shook her head. "Ugh, where'd he go?"

Reyna hammered on the door to the Hades cabin. "Di Angelo!" she yelled.

Something fell with a loud crash within the cabin, and a long string of unflattering Italian words followed. Hazel sighed in relief. "Thanks the gods!" She opened the door. "Nico, we've been looking for you! What's-"

"Are you packing?" Reyna interrupted.

A suitcase was lying open on the floor, with clothes scattered all around it. Obviously, it was the object that had fallen. Nico was crouched with a pair of dark jeans in his hands, staring up at Reyna and Hazel. He had the decency to look guilty.

Reyna strode into the cabin, scowling. "Did you think we wouldn't notice your absence?" she demanded. "We're not going to let you slip away, you know."

Nico stood up, dropping the jeans. "Look, I know what you're thinking. But it's not that!"

"Are you even well enough to shadow-travel?" Reyna protested, marching up to him. "I thought you had been forbidden from using your powers until next year!"

"I'm not shadow-traveling away!" Nico argued. "It's something else!"

"Nico?" Hazel walked up past Reyna. She tried to fight back the tears that she knew were gathering in her eyes. "You're-You're not leaving, are you?"

Nico looked at her, and his gaze softened. "No. No, I'm not leaving. Not permanently, at least."

Hazel just about collapsed with relief, but she smiled instead. "Good." Reyna's expression relaxed, losing some of its anger. "But why is there a suitcase full of your clothing lying on the floor, then?"

Nico bent down to pick up the jeans. "My dad summoned me. Apparently, there's a problem with some of the spirits in the Underworld, and he needs me to help out."

"Wouldn't he have summoned me too?" Hazel tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Nico grunted, picking up a shirt. "No offense, but any powers that you have involving death aren't that strong. Your powers lie more with riches than the dead. Plus, the whole…thing."

"Yeah. That." Hazel didn't like to talk about the possibility of Pluto taking her back to the dead the moment that she stepped into the Underworld.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "How long will you be gone?"

Nico froze. "Uh…" he stammered, and Hazel realized that neither she nor Reyna were going to like the answer. "I might not come back until next year?"

"WHAT?!" Hazel squawked, and Reyna looked like lightning had struck her.

"What do you mean, 'until next year?' Surely, the problem cannot be that bad!" Reyna exclaimed.

Nico finished gathering up the clothes, and started to refold them. "Spirits of the Underworld can be very finicky. Plus, this has been happening a lot, according to Father. He's set up some patrols already, but he needs more help. And, well, I'm not busy."

"'Not busy?!'" Hazel walked up to Nico and shook his arm. "But Nico! You can't miss Christmas and New Year's! We had so much planned-all of us! I wanted to go ice-skating on the lake here with you, and go into the city and explore! Plus, there's the gift exchange! I know that Jason already got something for you, and I did too! And the fireworks on New Year's! You can't miss it!"

Nico sighed again. "Look, it'll be fine. We can do all of those things once I get back, okay? I'm not gonna miss a whole lot."

"Nico." Reyna walked up to the other side of Nico, carefully placing her hand on his shoulder. He tensed, but didn't say anything. "Hazel's your sister, and I'm your friend. This holiday will not be the same without you. You also have many other friends here that wish to spend Christmas and New Year's with you-Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Leo-so many to name. What will they think of this?"

"Yeah, what will Will think?" Hazel asked. Reyna shot her a disapproving glare. Underneath the touch of their skin, they felt Nico tense again at the mention of Will.

"Who cares what Will thinks?" Nico snapped. "Now, can I continue packing in peace?"

This time, the look that Reyna gave Hazel was concerned. They both had their suspicions about Nico's feelings for Will, and vice versa. If Nico really did like Will, as they suspected he did, then why would he snap at the mention of Will's name?

"Nico?" Hazel stepped back and let her hand fall from Nico's arm. Reyna did the same. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. Just…Just a little stressed about this trip. That's all." Nico picked up a carefully folded shirt and placed it in the suitcase.

"Look, if it's stressing you out, then maybe you shouldn't go! I mean, Father will understand-"

"No." Nico's grip on the shirt tightened, before it relaxed. "He needs me, and I should go. Alright? No arguing with that."

"But Nico-" Reyna protested.

"No. I'm going, and that's final." He resumed packing.

Reyna sighed. "The others are going to try and make you stay. You know how Jason is."

"Don't I know," Nico muttered, shoving a pair of socks into the suitcase.

"He's not going to be convinced easily."

"Neither am I." He seemed to move faster, packing faster than he had been a few seconds later.

Hazel and Reyna glanced towards each other. Was there another reason that Nico was going? And if there was, what could it possibly be?

"Done."

Nico slammed the suitcase shut, the loud bang causing Hazel to jump. He picked it up and turned around, trudging up to the door and opening it. Hazel and Reyna followed.

"How are you going to get there? You can't shadow-travel," Reyna pointed out.

"Father sent Jules-Albert up to get me. He should be waiting up at the entrance to camp in his car," Nico replied, not turning around to face her.

"Do you know exactly when you'll get back?" Hazel asked.

"Next year, probably the second or third. If I'm lucky, the first."

"And you have no idea what Father needs you for?"

"Problems with the spirits. That's all that I know. It's fine, he's called me down for stuff like this before."

"Thank Zeus!"

Jason and Piper jogged up to them, followed by the rest of their friends. Frank moved to stand behind Hazel. Nico glared at all of them.

"We've been looking everywhere for you! We're so glad that Hazel and Reyna found you-" Annabeth stopped herself and pointed at Nico's suitcase. "Wait, why do you have a suitcase?"

"You're not leaving, are you? You can't!" Jason protested. Calypso nodded eagerly with him.

Nico facepalmed. "I'm not leaving! Why does everyone think that?" He sighed yet again. "No, my father summoned me to the Underworld for a few days. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a ride to catch." He started moving again in the direction of Half-Blood Hill.

Everyone followed. "How long will you be gone?" Frank asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly. Most likely through to the New Year's."

"Wait a sec," Leo interjected. "You're not gonna miss Christmas, are you?"

Nico didn't answer, but his pace quickened.

"Nico! You can't!" Percy yelled, jogging up to the son of Hades.

As the rest of their friends clamored up to Nico, trying to convince him not to go, Reyna and Hazel were pushed to the back of the group.

"Something's up," was the first thing that Hazel said.

Reyna grunted. "Yes, I believe so. Even if I do not approve of all of this meddling in Nico's life."

"We're just trying to help!" Hazel protested. "He deserves someone special in his life. Everyone does! Unless if they don't want someone, that is. But still!"

"And if you go too far, and mess it all up?"

Hazel hesitated, biting her bottom lip as she thought up a response. "Well, I don't think that'll happen," she finally replied.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Something _will_ happen. Something always does. It doesn't matter if that something works in your favor or not. Just be prepared."

Hazel opened her mouth to reply, but a cheery voice cut her off.

"Hey, guys!"

Hazel and Reyna turned around to find Will Solace running up to them. He stopped and waved, slightly out of breath. "What's going on? Because it's not every day a group of demigods are all yelling at another demigod. Especially when Nico's the demigod being yelled at."

"Hi!" Hazel waved back. Reyna nodded in greeting. "Yeah, I guess that it is sorta rare."

"It is. But, well, everyone's sorta staring…" Will gestured to the pavilion, where nearly everyone had turned to see the six boisterous demigods and the Titaness yelling at Nico not to go. Hazel was surprised. She wasn't aware that they had moved fast enough to be up to the pavilion by now.

"Oh." Hazel could feel her face blush, and had to resist the urge to fan herself. "I-I didn't know that we were here already!"

"We're nearly to the hill, actually," Reyna pointed out.

"Goodness!" Hazel did fan herself at that point, and waved to a few of the demigods in the pavilion. Most of them turned back to their meals, but a few continued to stare.

"Hey, can I ask why everyone is yelling at Nico?" Will asked, matching their casual pace with his long legs.

"Nico was summoned by his father to come down to the Underworld," Reyna explained. "Apparently, there has been a few problems with spirits and whatnot lately, so Pluto-Hades, I mean, needed more help. And Nico _is _his son, so he would be the obvious choice."

Will was silent for a few moments, before his pace quickened and he stomped up ahead of them. "Death _Head,_" he growled. Hazel stifled a few giggles, while Reyna just stared at Will.

"Oh, hey Will!" Percy greeted the son of Apollo as he stomped past him towards Nico. Will glared, before refocusing.

"Death Boy, I swear, if you are shadow-traveling to the Underworld," Will threatened, "The moment you get back I will chain you to an infirmary bed and I will not let you leave until the Summer Solstice."

Nico turned around and glared at Will. With a start, Hazel realized that they were at the foot of Half-Blood Hill. "No, Will, I'm not."

Will crossed his arms. "Then how are you getting there?"

"Remember that zombie chauffeur that I told you about?"

"The what?" Frank muttered.

"Yeah. Jewel-Albuquerque?"

"Jules-Albert," Nico corrected, "but yeah. He's driving me there. There's a special entrance in Central Park that he can use."

"Um, you need music for that!" Percy interrupted.

"Shut up, Percy!" Nico snapped. "My father sent him up to get me, so he can just drive through it. No music required."

Percy grumbled.

"I see. And you're going there because…?"

"Restless spirits. A few are trying to break free from the Fields of Asphodel, and my father needs all the help that he can get."

Will nodded. "And how long will you be gone?"

Nico looked down at his feet.

"Nico. Tell me."

No response. Hazel held her breath.

"Death Head."

Nico looked back up. "I'm not coming back until next year, at the latest."

Will looked like someone had punched him in the gut. "What?"

"You heard me: I'm not gonna be back until next year. Probably the second or third."

"But-But-" Will ran his hands through his curly blonde hair. "Dude! You can't just go! Christmas is on Thursday, and there's gonna be a New Year's party! Plus, the fireworks! They're gonna put the Fourth of July fireworks to shame, apparently. You can't miss that!"

Nico scowled. "So? I'll be back. Besides, it's not that much."

"Uh, yes, it is."

"Uh, no, it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

Will narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Nico's hand dropped down to his side, where he usually kept his sword. "No."

"Yes."

"No-"

"Guys! Cut it out!" Piper unexpectedly broke up the fight by stepping in between them. Jason look torn between applauding his girlfriend or reprimanding her for breaking up his OTP's interaction.

"Why?" Nico growled.

Piper gave him a weird look. "Why are you fighting like this? Gods, so hostile." She cleared her throat. "Look, Nico. None of us want you to go! All of us have things that we want to do, and pretty much all of them involve you in some way. You're our friend, so we want to hang out with you." Will nodded behind her, and Nico glared up at him. "Besides, Christmas is an awful time to spend alone, along with New Year's. I'm not saying that you're gonna be alone down there, but it might seem that way without all of you friends there.

"_But_," she added, holding up a hand before Nico could protest. "This is pretty important, since your dad summoned you and all. Plus, loose spirits are never a good thing. We all know that, right?"

Everyone nodded, except Will, who just looked confused.

Piper grinned. "Yup. They're terrible. Now, hopefully, you get the problem all wrapped up before Christmas, so that we can all spend time with you! If not…" She tapped her bottom lip. "Hmm. I suppose that we'll have to wait until you get back, so that we can have Christmas."

Nico shook his head. "Look, guys, that's nice and all. But you shouldn't have to put off your Christmas for me. Just give me my presents or whatever when I get back."

"I don't know, a Christmas party with you and everyone else sounds pretty fun," Annabeth said. "Plus, you wouldn't want to miss the look on Percy's face when he gets his gag gifts."

"Wise Girl!" Percy complained. Annabeth laughed.

"I agree!" Hazel stepped up to Nico's side. "Please, let's have our Christmas when you get back. A private little party, with just the…" She counted all of the people gathered there. "…Eleven of us!"

Will pointed at himself. "Wait, why did you count me?"

Hazel pursed her lips. "Well, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind spending Christmas with Nico and all of us." She paused. "Then again, you do have other friends, so you'd probably be doing Christmas things with them. So you don't _have_ to join us-"

"Nope," Will interrupted her. "I'll join your Christmas party for Nico. But if anyone tries to tag along with me, it's not my fault. Lou and Cecil can be pretty annoying when they put their minds to it."

"So it's settled then?" Jason asked. "A Christmas party with Nico?"

"Yup!" was Leo's answer.

Jason pumped his fist in the air.

"Now, you promise to be careful, yes?" Reyna asked Nico, crossing her arms.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother." But there was a trace of a smile on his face.

Hazel gave Nico a hug, and Reyna joined her. Nico stiffened as usual, but relaxed soon after. Leo and Calypso shook his hand, while Piper and Annabeth pulled him in for another hug. Frank shook his hand as well, while Jason and Percy gave him bro hugs. Hazel could've sworn that Will looked jealous, so she elbowed him.

"Are you going to say goodbye?" she asked.

Will blinked. "What?"

"Say goodbye to Nico! Give him a hug or something."

This time, Hazel could definitely read the expression on Will's face: Embarrassment. "Ex_cuse_ me?!" he hissed.

Hazel stared at him and sighed. "Say goodbye to him, or I'll push you into him."

"Fine, fine." Will grumbled and stepped up to Nico, holding out his fist for a fist bump. "Good luck down under, dude," he said. Hazel mentally smacked herself.

"It's not Australia, but thanks anyways." After a moment's hesitation, Nico returned the fist bump. He then started to walk up the hill, with everyone yelling more "Goodbye's!" and "Good luck's!" at him.

After he disappeared over the hill, Reyna whirled around to glare at Will. Hazel lurched away, caught by surprise.

"What?" Will asked, raising both of his eyebrows.

"I _swear,_ by every major or minor deity that is out there," Reyna snarled, "if you do _anything_ to hurt Nico, be it on purpose or not, I _will_ find a way to have you trampled by every wild animal that there is on this Earth, before I run you through with all of my swords and flick out your organs one by one while you still breathe." She pulled out her sword for emphasis. "Am I clear, Solace?"

Will backed up away from her, hands held up in surrender. And expression "Whoa, whoa, okay. Let's not kill the healer, shall we?"

Reyna narrowed her eyes and jabbed her sword towards him in response. "Am I?" she asked again in a dangerously calm voice.

Will paled and swallowed. "Y-Yes. Yes, you are, ma'am. Um, I mean…"

"Good." Just like that, Reyna slipped her sword back into its scabbard, and her face went back to neutral. "Let us return to our dinners, and plan Nico's Christmas party." She turned around and marched away.

Will rubbed his neck, right where Reyna's sword had been dangerously close to striking. "What was that about?" he squeaked.

"Just…Just do as she says, alright?" Jason patted his shoulder weakly, and Will flinched slightly. Jason removed his hand.

"She's got a point. I wanna finish my chicken," Frank said as he started to walk back to the dining pavilion. Hazel skipped up to him.

"Can I have a piece?" she asked.

"Sure, just as long as I get one of your apple slices."

Hazel smiled. "Deal."

***JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS ROBIN LAID AN EGGGGGGGGG***

As it turned out, Nico didn't get to return until the second of January. Everyone Iris-messaged him at least twice while he was away, even if they didn't last very long since the connection was terrible in the Underworld. Not even "O Fleecy, do me a solid" made the connection any better.

When he got back, the demigods whooped, and Leo even dropped a few firecrackers from his pocket onto the ground. The loud snapping sound scared Frank into a bulldog, and he leapt into Hazel's arms. Not expecting the weight, she stumbled back into Jason, who in turn fell into Percy, who in turn fell into Annabeth, who pushed Percy back and called him a Seaweed Brain. Leo, who wasn't even aware that firecrackers were in his pocket, leapt into Calypso's arms. Calypso just sighed very loudly. Nico rolled his eyes at all of them, but he still laughed.

The day after Nico's return was the day the group had their little Christmas party, which was in the Poseidon cabin. Will came to it, and as he had promised, Lou Ellen and Cecil had tagged along. Lou Ellen had even convinced Miranda Gardiner to come, and Cecil claimed that he was "stag." It was a little awkward, since most of the people there didn't really know the other four that had come. But they soon made good friends. Hazel had a lovely chat with Lou Ellen about problems and benefits of controlling the Mist, and Cecil's jokes had everyone laughing. Miranda proved herself to be an excellent braider, and just about completely redid Piper's hair. Jason was staring at Piper's new hairdo all evening.

As for Will, his usually sunny disposition was made even sunnier by the promise of a party, and his energy was almost boundless. Hazel hoped that it was even sunnier because of Nico's presence. She noticed that some of the others thought so as well, since Jason shoved Nico towards Will at almost every opportunity, and Cecil jokingly made a heart around Will and Nico with his hands when the other two boys were deep in conversation. Lou Ellen and Miranda had a few whispered conversations, which mostly involved Lou Ellen gesturing towards Will and Nico and Miranda shaking her head. Reyna frowned whenever something like that happened.

The party lasted late into the night, and everyone ended up falling asleep on a bunk or somewhere else comfy in the cabin. Percy didn't seem to mind-after all, he had enough bunks and comfy places to share.

Hazel was just about to drift off, when she suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Nico for an hour or so. Panicking, she sat straight up in her bunk and swept her gaze across the cabin, until she found a familiar mop of black hair.

Nico was snoring away on one of Percy's couches, which was apparently where Will had also fallen asleep. Nico's head was lying on Will's shoulder, and Will had an arm casually draped across Nico's shoulders. If you glanced at them, you would guess that they were a couple who had fallen asleep together after marathoning some movies.

Hazel smiled. "Good night, Nico, and good night to your-hopefully-future boyfriend as well." She settled back down on her bunk and closed her eyes.

In the morning, Nico and Will were the only ones still asleep, almost in the exact position that Hazel had seen them in the night before. Leo and Cecil grinned at each other.

"Shall we?" Cecil held out his arm in mock politeness.

"We shall," Leo snickered, before pulling out an air horn from his tool belt. Hazel had just enough time to cover her ears and silently curse both of the boys.

_FAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

Nico eyes jerked open, and he fell to the side. He let out a long string of Italian words. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Will jerked awake, and stood up. "YES SIR!" he shouted, saluting, before he realized his surroundings. "Wait, what?"

Leo doubled over laughing, and Cecil was rolling on the floor. "HA HA-YOUR FACE-I JUST-OH MY GODS THAT WAS SO PERFECT-HELP ME 911 I'M DYING-AH HA HA HA HA-"

Will scowled, and kicked him in his side. "You're an ass," he growled. Cecil groaned.

Calypso yanked the air horn out of Leo's hands, and blew it in his face. Leo yelped and stumbled backwards into a bunk, tripping over it to fall with a loud crash on the other side of it. This time, everyone laughed. Leo sat back up, rubbing his head and scowling. "Callie! How could you?" he whimpered.

Calypso leaned across the bunk to him and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Sorry, sweetie," she cooed. "But I had to make sure that you tasted your own medicine. Now, it's time for breakfast." She held out a hand to help Leo up, and he took it.

"Well, now that the lovebirds are up, it's breakfast time!" Lou Ellen cheered.

"Lou, we are _not_ _lovebirds,_" Will grumbled. Something flickered across Nico's face, but it was gone before Hazel could place it.

"Sure, keep lying to yourself. C'mon, 'Randa!" Lou Ellen tugged on her girlfriend's arm, and soon had dragged her out the door. Miranda waved apologetically over her shoulder.

Percy rubbed his eyes. "Yes. Food. Must. Eat. To. Function. Properly." He yawned. Annabeth punched his arm.

"Seaweed Brain," she scoffed.

"Wise Girl!" he complained, but she walked out the door and he had to jog to keep up.

Soon, everyone else had left the cabin, besides Reyna, Hazel, Frank, Nico, and Will. Reyna glared at Will and did the "I'm watching you" gesture before she turned to the door and walked out. Will gulped.

"So, do we just…go, then?" He asked.

Hazel nodded. Frank took her hand in his. "Let's go, Hazel. I hope they still had oatmeal," he mused. Hazel blushed slightly before nodding at him again, and turning to face her brother and Will.

"Let's go, you two!" she beamed.

Nico shrugged. "I'm game. After over a week of bland Underworld food, even spinach sounds good."

"It's also good for you," Will pointed out as they walked to the door.

"You just made it sound less appetizing."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can't eat it."

Hazel laughed, and when Frank asked her what was so funny, she just shook her head. Perhaps Will was better for Nico than she originally thought he was.

* * *

**I had a great winter break! I got a lot of cool stuff for Christmas, and San Antonio was great! I even got to go on my first-ever ghost tour! I've always wanted to go on one lol. I heard some really creepy stories! ALSO OVER THE GARDEN WALL WAS MARATHONED AGAIN ON CARTOON NETWORK OMG I sat through all of it whooping.**

**I also hit not only 888 followers, not only 900 followers, BUT A THOUSAND FOLLOWERS ON TUMBLR HOLY CRAP! I also sorta befriended annabethisterrified, which is slightly weird to me since I sorta idolize her. Also ARADIA-PARADIA LIKES PERCY JACKSON AND THEY DREW SOLANGELO AHHHH (I have a bit of a crush on Para okay it's fucking ridiculous). PLUS SOME ANON TOLD PARADIA THAT THIS ACCOUNT EXISTS? LIKE OMG WHAT? Paradia if you are reading this I am so sorry.**

**Okay, let's see…The chapter plan says I have up to chapter 28, and this is chapter 20. So I have chapters 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 to write, and at least 5 of them are gonna be nice, long chapters.**

**We're eight chapters away from the end, and six away from the epilogue! Woohoo!**

…**Okay, maybe not so much "woohoo" as "boohoo," since that means we're getting closer to the end here.**

**I'm hoping to end this fic before Spring Break in March, actually, since that's my London trip and I hope to spend it mostly writing-free. Solangelo will probably **_**finally **_**be canon around Valentine's Day. Like that is my goal canon Solangelo on the day of love aka the day that I will spend single again.**

**Also, I've been thinking about writing a short fic about Alex, because I've had this idea for zher meeting Laura and them finally getting together bc I adore Alex. It'll start out the April or May before Gaea attacks Camp Half-Blood, while Percy is still sleeping and Leo is still building the Argo II. Boy, wish I was Percy. I'd love to sleep for like six months I mean I can't sleep over seven hours anyways. Originally, the fic was going to be a one-shot, but then I realized that it's gonna take a lot longer to write.**

**I got the Furby one-shot up! It's called "Devil-spawn" and the only thing I regret about it is that it is 8,500+ words. It wasn't supposed to be that long I swear. Also "A Common Memory" will be up at some point it'll be the next thing that I upload lol.**

**Anywho, more favorite lines?**

**Also, I hope that all of you had wonderful holidays!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	21. Chapter 21: The Demi-Godfather

**I accidentally created a Clarisse La Rue cosplay. Send help.**

**And I'm only mentioning this because she's relevant to this chapter. Aha.**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Evil Toaster: I burst out laughing in the middle of class when I saw your username and my friend stared at me like he thought he should call someone. I showed him and he laughed too. HAHA I'M SO SORRY FRIEND I DIDN'T MEAN TO**

**Guest: Why wouldn't he?**

**Pi not Pie: FRIEND HAD BAD DAY? NO FRIEND MUST NOT HAVE BAD DAY. SHH FRIEND ALL SHALL BE WELL. Yes cuddles are the greatest okay.**

**Readeatcook: Man I just felt really guilty like "I shouldn't spill out all of my guts and burden my readers" was what I was thinking as I typed it up. Haha that Furby fic was…interesting. Yes that's Jason in a nutshell.**

**As for your list…**

**I'll have to go out and watch Fringe sometime, it sounds pretty cool! Plus I really want to watch more 90's movies, so "Mercury Rising" is now on my list. I don't know much about savants, though, that's my friend since he's one. And-dude-FREAKING ARTEMIS FOWL. I've never viewed him with it, personally, but I haven't read any of the books since last April or May or so. Yes, I can actually see this now. I don't think all Aspies have a problem with eye contact, though. I'm personally getting better with mine. I looked up a list of characters that canonically had Asperger's on Wiki a few weeks ago, actually, and didn't come across many. But it turns out that Adam Young from Owl City has Asperger's, and that just makes me really happy since I like Owl City!**

**I think I'll keep replying here. By the way, links only work on profiles and stuff, not in reviews. FF cuts them out for some reason, along with the less than/greater than signs. Does anyone know why?**

**Credit for this chapter goes to Infinitecity!**

**BTW, this is set during the infamous days in the infirmary, before Will and Nico really started to like each other. Not sure which one, probably the second one. Maybe I should do a fic about that…Nah, I don't really have any inspiration, since I've already read plenty of fics about it.**

**Also, this is Nico's first time meeting Alex, so he assumed that zhe was a girl. Just to clear things up.**

**Disclaimer: If Rick Riordan cosplayed his characters that would be really weird. Also, I mentioned more personal OC's (Tiffany, Elizabeth, Gordon, etc.)**

* * *

**C**hapter 20: The Demi-Godfather

"And…" Will carefully tied the bandage around Nico's elbow. "Done!"

Nico grunted, pulling his elbow away. "Is this really necessary, Solace? I'm fine."

"Oh, come on! Those scars were nasty."

"Just shut up."

Nico had barely been in the infirmary for a day and a half, and already he wanted out of it.

Sure, sleeping without being disrupted had been nice. The infirmary had been blessed by Apollo to never let anyone in it have nightmares when it had first been built, because the constant waking up in a cold sweat really put a damper on healing. He had slept through nearly all of the first day, and was surprised to wake up to find himself refreshed.

But other than that, Nico didn't enjoy it.

The infirmary was just too _cheery_ and _bright_-two words that did _not_ suit the son of Hades. With its sterile white walls and tiled floors, pale yellow privacy curtains, and flowers on nearly every table, it looked more like a place that would appear in a child of Hades' nightmares. All of the workers smiled brightly and had a politeness that seemed fake, never losing it even when they were with the most miserable of patients.

Speaking of the patients. Nico could feel their life forces, and distinguish all of them from each other. It was more muted here than it usually was in other places-possibly another effect of the blessing that Apollo had placed on the building-but he could still feel it. And it was almost worse, because he could feel those dying in a place of healing. Not all of the campers were so close to death, but a few were definitely struggling. Always an aftereffect of a war, he reminded himself. There wasn't anything he could do about it.

And then there was Will. Almost every five minutes, Will poked his head into Nico's room with a cheery smile, as if to make sure that he was still there. Sometimes, he would just hang out with Nico when he had a break and wasn't checking up on Nico, like he was now. This made Nico scoff. Where else could he go? If he even tried to escape, Will would hunt his ass down and force him back for sure. And Will seemed like a person that should not be angry under any circumstances, despite his usually sunny disposition. The talk he had with Nico before the first day in this wretched place

Not to mention that Nico had a strange…_reluctance _to leave Will. He blamed it on Will hunting him down if he left, but there was something else. Perhaps it was that Will seemed to genuinely want to be Nico's friend, and he wasn't used to that. Sure, there was Jason, who had popped into the infirmary to visit him earlier, and Piper as well. Plus, there was…

Something tugged inside of him, and he tried to ignore it.

Nico still couldn't think about Percy without feeling that tug. It was more of a nervous tug now, because of what he had said two days before to him, but a tug nonetheless. A tug that reminded Nico that part of him still felt deeply for the son of Poseidon, no matter what he said. Sure, he was practically over it. It had been nothing but idolization.

Yet the tug was still there.

Nico hadn't seen Percy or Annabeth since that incident. They had been preparing to tour New Rome's college, and Nico hadn't left the infirmary. In fact, after he had left them and finished talking to Will, he had hid from them the rest of the day. It just seemed like too much to face them.

Well, face Percy, mostly. Annabeth hardly seemed bothered by Nico's confession, even though Percy was her boyfriend. The high-five had confirmed that. But Percy hadn't finished his sentence when Nico had left them, and he was afraid that he had finished it, when Nico wasn't around to hear him. He was scared of the end of that sentence.

What he was afraid of, he just wasn't sure. Rejection? Nico had gotten that rejection on Percy's birthday, after the Second Titan War had ended. And he didn't feel so strongly for Percy anymore. Those feelings had died down to more platonic ones. Hate? Nico didn't know how Percy felt towards ho…people like him. What if he hated them, like the people back in the forties?

But that didn't seem to fit Percy. He was a friendly guy, always wearing a dorky smile and constantly messing with his hair. Nico couldn't recall him hating anyone for who they were. Even in the wars, when there were fellow demigods on the opposing side, he had been reluctant to cut them down. Percy had even quoted some movie at one point…"Ohana means family." Wasn't that it?

So what did Nico fear?

Dark fingers snapped in Nico's face. "Earth to Death Boy. Earth to Death Boy. Can you read me, Death Boy?"

Nico blinked out of his trance to scowl at two blue eyes. "What is it?"

Will's eyes dropped down from his to glance back at his bandage. This was normal Will behavior, as far as Nico could tell. He couldn't recall a moment where Will had looked him dead in the eye for more than two seconds. Probably an Apollo thing.

_Or maybe he's just scared of what he'll see in your eyes,_ a snarky voice whispered.

_Fuck off,_ Nico whispered back.

"You just went off into space for a minute or two there," Will said. "Just trying to make sure that everything is okay."

Nico found himself relaxing. "Everything's fine, except for me being stuck here."

Will rolled his eyes. "It's necessary. You seem to be getting better, anyways. You haven't faded at all." His eyes flickered back up to Nico's before they flickered away again. "Right?"

Nico nodded, before realizing that Will probably hadn't seen it. "Yeah, I haven't faded." He wasn't lying, which was a relief.

Will nodded. "That's good. At this rate, I might release you tomorrow evening instead of the morning after. You seem to be healing just fine, and the scars from that werewolf battle seem to be fading. Dunno what the coach put in that nature magic, but it's doing its job!" He whistled slowly. "He could teach my cabin a lesson or two."

"He probably could."

Will sat back on the floor, cross-legged. "No nightmares or anything?"

"No."

"No random dizziness, pain, anything?"

"Nothing."

"No surprisingly vivid nightmares?"

Nico fought back a grimace at the mention of nightmares. "No, there hasn't been any."

"No wounds have reopened? You've never felt cold when it's hot or vice versa? No trouble hearing or seeing?"

"No, no, and no."

Will sighed. "Wow, that's a bit boring."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Will scratched his head. "I don't know, I was sorta expecting more. I mean, I've never dealt with a case of fading away before, so I'm not sure what to expect. It's like…I don't know…"

Nico knew how to finish that sentence. "An experiment?"

"Yeah, almost." Will's eyes widened when he realized what he had said. "I'm not calling you an experiment or anything! It's just uncharted territory. You're not an experiment, you're my friend."

Something turned inside of Nico. A _friend_? How could Will Solace, of all people, consider _him_ as a friend? They were complete opposites. Will was all about healing, sunlight, happiness, brightness. Nico practically embodied the exact opposite.

"Friend?"

Will looked back up at him. "Yeah, friends. That's what we are, right?"

Nico couldn't answer. Friends? Will really considered them to be…how? How could they possibly be friends?

A loud clip-clopping noise stopped right outside the room, and a voice made a "AHEM!" noise. Nico jerked his head up to the door, and was surprised to see who it was.

Coach Hedge stood outside the doorway, with a gurgling Chuck in his arms. The baby stuck a finger in his mouth and sucked on it. There were damp stains on the coach's shirt, presumably from his son. He was facing a Polynesian girl with platinum blonde hair and icy blue eyes in green scrubs. Nico guessed that she was one of Will's siblings. He had seen her around the infirmary…Alice, right?

"Look, Coach Hedge," she groaned. "You can just talk to them after Will releases Nico. Pretty sure Will doesn't want him to have visitors right now-"

"Nonsense!" Coach Hedge bellowed, and Chuck gurgled again. Hedge fondly stroked his head before glaring at the girl again. "Besides, this is an issue that involves both of them, so why not now?"

"So you're going to disturb him."

"Like I told you at the desk, Alice: Important."

Alice crossed her arms. "No. As the desk clerk for this shift, I forbid you from-"

Will stood up, startling Nico. He wasn't aware that the son of Apollo had been listening to their conversation as well. "Hey, Alice. Hey, Coach. What's up?"

Both of the visitors looked up at Will. "Coach Hedge insisted that he had something important to talk to you about," Alice explained. Chuck squealed, and Alice glanced back down at him. "He's not taking no for an answer."

Will shrugged. "Well, if it's really that important, I guess it's alright-"

"Great!"

Coach Hedge marched through the door, nodding respectfully at Nico. Alice facepalmed. Will ignored her, choosing to sit back down in front of Nico. Coach Hedge sat next to him, placing Chuck carefully in his lap.

Nico raised an eyebrow. What was so important that the coach had to talk to both him _and_ Will?

"So, Will, as Nico's current supervisor, do you give Coach Hedge permission to visit Nico at this time?" Alice asked.

Will nodded. "Yeah, it's alright."

Alice sighed in relief. "I'm going back to the front desk, before any more…_unwanted_ visitors come through," she muttered as she stomped off, back to the front desk of the infirmary.

A few moments passed, until Alice's stomping feet had faded away. Then Will cleared his throat. "So, what's up, Coach Hedge?"

"Well, boys, Mellie and I have realized we've got a slight problem on our hands."

"I'll say," Will muttered, glancing down at Chuck. Nico had to suppress a snort.

Coach Hedge stiffened. "What was that, Solace?"

"Um, nothing." Will coughed into his fist.

"What's the problem?" Nico asked.

Chuck gurgled, and waved his drool-covered fist in the air. His little hooves tapped against the floor as he kicked his legs. Coach Hedge fondly smiled down at him, before looking back up at both of the demigods.

"Obviously, you both know how Clarisse is the godmother to little Chuck here."

Nico and Will slowly nodded, Nico not sure where Coach Hedge was going with this talk.

"And then me and Mellie were talking about it, and she says, 'Honey, Clarisse is wonderful and all, but tradition says she can't be the only one,' and I asked, 'What do you mean?' and she says back, 'Well, what about Chuck's godfather?'"

Oh. _Oh_. Nico understood now. His eyes widened in surprise.

Will stammered, his face lighting up with red. "Well-Uh-Wow, okay-"

"Coach, are you…are you asking us if _we_ want to be Chuck's godfathers?" Nico asked. His mind was reeling. This was an honor, being asked to be the godparent of anyone's child. Especially when you considered that not a lot of demigods lived long enough to really be considered godparents.

"Well, either one of you. Mel likes to be traditional, you see, so she'd prefer only one. However, if both of you are interested, I'm sure that we can arrange something!"

Will swallowed, running a hand nervously through his hair. "Look, this is-this is an honor and all…But, traditionally, aren't the godparents supposed to be married or something?"

Coach Hedge shrugged. "That doesn't really matter, does it?"

"He does have a point," Nico agreed. Will raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Nico narrowed his eyes at him. "Clarisse is great and all, and I'm sure that she's a wonderful godmother, but she's already dating Chris. If either of us agree to be Chuck's godfather, what will he think?"

"Yeah." Will nodded. "That would be awkward. Plus-how do I put this gently-Clarisse isn't…my type."

Nico had to agree with Will. Even if he was normal, he still wouldn't be interested in dating Clarisse. "Yeah, she's…she's not my type either."

"Oh." Coach Hedge's brow furrowed together, and then his face lit up in understanding. "Oh. _Oh_. Okay, I see. Well, I see why she wouldn't be either of your types then." He chuckled and winked at them.

Nico frowned. "Uh, why are you winking?"

Coach Hedge glanced from Will to Nico. "No reason, none at all!" He cleared his throat. "But, like I was saying, that's not always the case. I knew this mortal family way back in the day-I was supposed to keep an eye on their daughter, because she was supposedly a demigod, but the job got handed off to some other satyr. Anywho, their second son's godparents were the mom's brother and the dad's sister. So this wouldn't be the first case."

Nico was still confused about the winking, but he decided to let it go for now. "Was she a demigod?"

Coach Hedge shrugged. "Never heard back about that, actually. I'll have to ask. This was back in what, 2007? She'd be your boys' age by now, actually."

"Wouldn't she be claimed then?" Will asked.

"I don't know. I mean, look at McLean. She didn't come here until she was fifteen! Not to mention…" He trailed off.

The room was silent. Even Chuck had stopped his baby noises. Nico glanced at Will, to find Will glancing back up at him. Nobody else knew, and Nico hoped they never would.

Will cleared his throat. "Yeah. I don't know, though. I wouldn't mind being Chuck's godfather, honestly, but Chris just seems like the more likely choice."

Nico nodded. "I'm not really great with little kids, either."

"Probably because you've never tried," Will scoffed.

Nico glared at him. Gods, he was just so infuriating! "I'm not really a people person, in case you haven't noticed," he snapped.

Will just calmly raised an eyebrow at him. "You can always try, y'know."

"You think I haven't?"

"Okay, boys, let's calm down," Coach Hedge soothed. Nico realized he had been about to slide off the bed, and carefully slid back onto it. Will settled back into his previous position. Chuck squealed.

"So, will you ask Chris about it?" Will asked.

Coach Hedge snorted. "If you're both gonna be so fussy about it. There ain't nothing wrong with being a godparent!"

Someone rapped on the door, and everyone looked back up at it. Another one of Will's siblings stood there. Nico didn't really know her. She was Latina, with dark blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Surprisingly, she was out of scrubs. "Hey, Will!" she greeted. "We need you down in Room 407. Miranda Gardiner's swelling increased, and Lou Ellen's slightly upset about it." A bang sounded off in the distance, and she listened. "Okay, I embellished that a little. She's ballistic. Send help. The American army would be great."

Will shot up to his feet. "Okay, Alex, you watch Nico until I get back. And when I get back, you're gonna get back into scrubs!" he ordered as he walked up to the door.

Alex stuck her tongue out and mumbled something to Will that sounded suspiciously like, "Moh, tikth ah thword upth thour ath!*****"

Will frowned. "What?"

Alex stuck her tongue back into her mouth. "Nothing."

Will raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He gave her the "I'm-watching-you" gesture before he left.

Coach Hedge scooped Chuck up into his arms, causing the baby satyr to squeal. "Well, di Angelo, I'll be off then to find Chris." He nodded at him. "But don't forget my offer, alright?"

Nico nodded back. "Sure thing, Coach."

Coach Hedge grinned, and he trotted out the door. "Good afternoon, Alex."

"Afternoon, Coach," Alex called out. When he was out of sight, she sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "Well, guess you're stuck with me," she told Nico.

"Likewise." Nico laid back down on his cot and closed his eyes. He wasn't really tired, he was just hoping to avoid an awkward conversation with Alex.

A few minutes passed, until Alex sighed again and called out, "You're not asleep."

Nico shifted in his sleep.

"Oh, don't play. I am a child of Apollo, I can tell when people lie."

"Mmph."

"Fine, then. I'll just sit here and groan about how Will forgot that my shift ended like five minutes ago, I was just near Miranda's room and Samuel sent me because Lou Ellen is so freaking overprotective of her girlfriend-"

_Her…_what_?_

Nico sat bolt upright in the cot, and Alex slowly clapped. "He lives!" she cheered.

He chose to ignore that and just stared at her. "Her girlfriend?" he asked.

Alex raised an eyebrow-a trait that all children of Apollo seemed to possess. "You didn't know? Jeez, you and Will have been getting so chummy, I'd thought he would've mentioned this by now."

"Just get to the point."

"Wow, bossy! Anyways, yeah, Lou Ellen and Miranda started dating a few weeks ago. They were probably thinking, 'Shoot, we're probably gonna die soon anyways, might as well go down swinging.' And if you're concerned because you're crushing on Lou, she's bi anyways."

"No, I'm…I'm not, but…" Nico swallowed hard, and gestured vaguely with his hands. "Isn't that, you know…not allowed?"

Back in Italy, this was far from allowed. Nico couldn't remember much, but he could remember homilies from his town's church, calling people like him "monsters" and "unholy." It was why his mom wanted to leave for America-before their church discovered Nico.

Alex stared. "Well, not in all of the countries and states. But here in camp?" She laughed. "That would be so hypocritical. I mean, the male lovers that my father had alone…" Her grin turned into a grimace. "Okay, I don't want to think about my father's sex life."

Nico's heart thumped wildly in his chest. "Apollo had male lovers?"

Alex whistled. "Okay, you gotta read up on your Greek myths. Yup, he did. Although one guy jumped off a rock rather than date him. He must've heard about Daphne."

Thunder rumbled faintly. "Shove it, Dad! It's true!" Alex yelled. The thunder stopped.

But Nico was barely paying attention. It wasn't wrong anymore. He wasn't wrong. He wasn't. He was completely normal.

"Are there…" He hesitated. How much should he tell her? "Are there others…others like that here?"

Alex shrugged, tilting her hand from side to side. "Yeah, give or take. I mean, sure, we've got straight people. But our heritage sorta comes into play here, so not everyone is fond of just the opposite gender. We've got people who like their gender, people who like both binary genders, people who don't give a crap, and people who don't want to date at all."

Nico blinked. "Like who?"

"Well, let's see…" Alex tapped her finger against her lips. "Jake from Hephaestus and Mitchell from Aphrodite have been dating since March, and Gordon from my cabin has a boyfriend back home, although he keeps on flirting with Timothy from Athena in my opinion. Malcolm from Athena dated Victoria from Hermes last year, but I heard he's got a crush on some Aphrodite guy now. Emilia Rodriguez from Hermes and Alianna Chen from Ares. Elizabeth from Hypnos had a partner back home, but xie died, so she's going out with Hansika of Nemesis now. Angeline from Hephaestus isn't interested in dating anyone. Neither is Cecil from Hermes-Oh, yeah, you know him. So is Tiffany from Ares, although her twin brother is still making eyes at Rosette from Athena. You'd think he learn after he broke her heart two years ago!" Alex scoffed. "Oh well, she's happy with Samantha now. Lexi from Aphrodite also doesn't want to date, and neither does my sister Alice. Atsuko from Demeter hit on Clarisse once, but her feelings weren't returned."

"Is that all of them?" Nico asked.

Alex shook her head. "No, that's just some of them. Like I said, this camp is populated with heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, pansexual, asexual, polyamorous-you name the sexuality, it's here! Not to mention the heteromantics, homoromantics, biromantics, panromantics, or aromantics. Or even all of the different genders!"

Now Nico was confused. What did she mean by "aromantic" and "pansexual?" And there was only two genders: Male and female. "Other genders?"

"You're sheltered," Alex muttered. "Yeah, there's other genders on the gender spectrum. Like agender, non-binary, genderfluid, not to mention transgender."

Nico was thoroughly lost. "What?"

Alex sighed. "Okay, we need to get a bunch of people to explain this to you. I'll just say this." She thumped a hand on her chest. "I'm not female."

He thought it wasn't possible to be any more confused than he was now, but it was. Alex was clearly a girl. Her voice was high, her face was feminine, and there were…certain aspects of her body that were feminine. "Are you sure? You don't look male to me."

Alex glowered at him. "Keep the sass in your pants, di Angelo." Nico turned red and made a strangled noise at her suggestiveness, but she ignored it. "Female is my binary gender-the one I was born with. But it's not _my _gender. My real gender is non-binary. That means I'm neither male nor female, I exist out of those binaries. And, like most others with my gender, I have pronouns that aren't he/him or she/her. They're zhe/zher."

"O…kay?" Nico was still lost. His head was spinning. What was Alex even talking about?

Alex smirked, crossing her-no, _zher_-arms. "That's the shortened explanation. Interrogate Will all you want when he gets back." Zhe frowned. "I hope that's soon, I was going to meet up with Laura after my shift."

"Who's Laura?" Nico asked.

"My girlfriend." Alex readjusted zher position against the doorframe. "She's mine, so no ideas."

"I'm not interested," Nico muttered.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Better not be."

Footsteps suddenly grew louder, and Alex perked up. "Hey, Will! I'm glad that you've-" As zhe turned around with a grin on zher face, it faltered and disappeared. "Oh. 'Sup, Alex, along with your guest," zhe greeted,

Alice marched around Alex to stick her head in the door. "You have another visitor," she announced, then blinked in surprise. "Where's Will?"

"Situation with Lou Ellen in Miranda's room," Alex explained. "He left me in charge."

Alice grunted. "I'm surprised you're still alive," she told Nico. "Alex talks the ear off just about every person zhe's near. I don't know how Laura stands it, honestly."

"Alice!" Alex complained, kicking her sneaker against the ground. "That's so rude!"

"It's the truth," Alice defended. "Anyways, are you willing to take this visitor, Nico?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Just as well." Alice looked back up to Alex. "As his current medical supervisor, do you allow this visitor to visit Nico?"

Alex nodded. "Yup. Can I go now? My shift's over."

"You said you were watching Nico until Will returned."

"But Al-_ice_!" Alex pouted, sticking out zher bottom lip.

Alice shook her head. "Nope. You are staying here. Besides, my duty is the front desk, and gods know what will happen if I leave it unattended. Last time, the Stolls stuck condoms all over it!"

Alex made a face. "Eugh, that was terrible. Don't remind me."

Nico was about to ask who his visitor was, when a familiar chuckle from outside the door made his heart beat a thousand times faster. "They've done a lot worse," the owner of that chuckle commented.

"They really have," Alex agreed. "Oh, man, that one Christmas, with the shaving cream and the green paint…"

"Yes, so I'm going to go make sure that something like that won't happen again." Alice started to walk away, waving behind her. "Have fun, you crazy kids."

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Alex mock-saluted, before gesturing to the door. "Go visit or whatever you wanna do."

"Thanks…Alex, right?"

"Yessiree, that's me."

"Yes, I got it! Okay, excuse me."

Nico could practically feel his face pale as Percy Jackson stepped into the infirmary room and gave him his signature dorky smile.

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*****_**Moh, tikth ah thword upth thour ath!-Oh, stick a sword up your ass!**_

_**WHEN MELLIE AND COACH HEDGE HAVE THEIR SECOND CHILD WILL AND NICO ARE ALREADY A THING AND WHEN COACH HEDGE ASKS THEM TO BE GODFATHERS TO HIS DAUGHTER THEY SAY YES AND NONE OF YOU CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE**_

**Whoops, my hand slipped, so now I need to continue this chapter in a separate one-shot. *sighs* As if there's not enough on my plate already…**

**I am ridiculously proud of this chapter name, despite having never seen the movies.**

**And yes, Nico and Will came out in front of each other without the other realizing it. And yes, Coach Hedge is the original Solangelo shipper. Shoot me before I go any further. Also yup Elizabeth is pansexual. Xie is another pronoun as well.**

**The next person to ask for an explanation of non-binary will be pointed towards this chapter.**

**Nico questioning how he and Will can be friends is me questioning all of my friendships lol**

**OH! I FORGOT THIS IN THE LAST CHAPTER!**

**Guys, you **_**HAVE**_**to read "The Wrath of Python" by annabethisterrified, if you haven't read it on her tumblr already! She started posting it on here, and it is fantabulous! I am ridiculously passionate about it actually. I even created a cover for it! Although you should be careful with Chapter 2. I was making dying monkey noises nearly the entire chapter. I just…the feels are insane. PLEASE GO READ IT I AM IN SO MUCH LOVE REVIEW AND FAVORITE AND FOLLOW THAT STORY LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW OKAY MAKE IT THE MOST POPULAR STORY OUT THERE.**

**Also, remember my "Had a Crush on Percy" club idea in my A/N for chapter 2? Well, the amazing Queen Ore-Sama has made it a reality! It's called the "Had a Crush Club" and it's hilarious! PLEASE MAKE THAT ONE INSANELY POPULAR TOO OMG.**

***ahem***

**Next chapter's gonna be intense. It's time for Hades to give a pep talk, and he's gonna do it in the Underworld. Unfortunately, when he summons Nico for the pep talk, he accidentally brings someone uninvited with him…**

**It wasn't his fault, they were high-fiving when he summoned Nico. Hades just wasn't aware.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	22. Chapter 22: Innapropriate Summons

**It's the three-month anniversary of this fic! Holy crap wow.**

**And I'm so close to 500 reviews like it's not even funny. If I get 600 reviews before this story ends I might actually cry you guys. Although I'm still mad that I missed 420 reviews, I was going to make several weed jokes (420 SOLANGELO IT).**

**And, yes, this chapter is back to normal time. I had to do a flashback with Infinitecity's request, unfortunately. Sorry for any confusion!**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Pi not Pie: Cuddles make the world go round okay. Alex had to explain everything before zhe went insane over Nico being so sheltered. More like **_**discourage **_**him, if you've seen **_**Hercules**_** ("HE'S A **_**GUY**_**!"). Thank you!**

**Lizzie: OKAY **_**THANK YOU**_** I LITERALLY HAVE BEEN WONDERING FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS WHY PEOPLE CALL SAM A MOOSE. I already know about Destiel, I just don't know whether it's actually canon or not (I've seen so much art about it though like it's insane). YOU'RE WELCOME!**

**Guest: I'll try! Yes zhe is lol. I'll try not to lol. Here's the update! Yes love that line and I'll read it!**

**Chapter idea goes to the magical MoonlightFairy782! That just reminded me of the Disney movie coming out next week, **_**Strange Magic**_**. I totally ship the brunette fairy girl with the goblin king dude. And Disney is supposedly making their first film with a gay couple! It's called **_**Princes**_**, and I think it comes out this fall! (I hope that they look like Will and Nico omg).**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan doesn't write Hades using the sassy Disney version of Hades. Meanwhile, I do, even if it is slightly OOC.**

* * *

**C**hapter 22: Inappropriate Summons

Hades was confused.

Hopelessly, overwhelmingly, confused.

All that he had wanted to do was talk to his son. And Hades was in one of those moods where if he wanted something, he wanted it _now_. So he could hardly be bothered with the notion of sending his son a message, telling him "Hey! Your old man wants to see ya! Why don't you pop down to the Underworld for a minute or two?"

His desire to see his son was a bit surprising. After all, he had seen him just before he had left to go back up to the mortal world. But the days that Nico had spent down here were spent trying to help corral the spirits, so neither son nor father had much time for the other. And Hades wanted to have a proper talk with him. It had been nearly six months since the war had ended, after all, and he wanted to make sure that he was doing alright.

Not to mention what Aphrodite had been squealing over at the last council meeting…

But no. Hades refusedto focus on the stupid love goddess and her stupid ramblings, even if it meant her cursing his love life. It wouldn't have been the first time she had messed with it, anyways.

So Hades decided to just summon his son down to the Underworld. No heads up. No warning. No "Hey-your-old-man-wants-to-see-ya!" message.

What could possibly go wrong?

Of course, someone else _had_ to be dragged along with Nico.

Hades' son was currently standing in the middle of the throne room of the Underworld's palace, looking just as bewildered as Hades currently felt. His sword was in one hand, which was currently hanging down at his side. And the other hand…

The other boy coughed, his eyes widening as he realized where he was. His skin was a dark brown, covered with darker freckles. His hair was a curly blonde, and his eyes were dark blue. He was wearing the standard Camp Half-Blood shirt, which told Hades that he was a demigod. He shouldn't have been in the Underworld. His time was far off, Hades could feel that. A quiver of arrows was strung across his back, and one hand held a bow.

The other hand was touching Nico's.

No, they weren't holding hands. But their hands were formed in the gesture that Hades had learned was called a "high five," after seeing Apollo and Hermes perform it so many times.

But that didn't excuse anything. How _dare _this boy touch Nico! It didn't matter what or who he was. Hades wasn't about to let _any_ boy near his son!

And now that he thought about it, the boy looked disgustingly like Apollo. Sure, there were differences, such as how he reeked of mortality, Apollo had bluer eyes, and he wasn't singing any of those annoying "Eminem" songs that Apollo liked to call music. Hades was about to count the look of horror on his face, but he realized that Apollo had that exact expression whenever Artemis threatened to shoot his ass full of arrows.

Oh, good Fates. This wasn't the boy that Aphrodite was "shipping" with his son, was it? If so, he would flay the boy alive and rip out every organ in his body. And then he would send him down to the deepest, darkest parts of the Fields of Punishment. Or, even better, Tartarus. Yes, let the monsters tear through his flesh for all eternity. What a beautiful thought.

But Hades had to let Nico know why he was here first. Rising up from his throne, he cleared his throat. "Nico! It is good to see you again."

"Father." Nico had let his hand drop from the other boy's (Who looked like he was trying to melt into the shadows-please, he was no child of the Underworld) and stepped up to Hades. His confused expression had changed to a scowling one. "Is it more skeletons?"

Hades frowned. "Why would it be that?"

"Because that was why you needed me last time."

Hades shook his head. "No, I just wanted to talk to you. Speaking of which, let's talk about the boy that you've brought with you…Who is he?"

"Wha-Oh." Nico turned back to face the other boy, who had dropped his bow. "Chill, Will. My father just wanted to talk to me."

The boy-Will, Hades guessed-backed into the wall. "Um, I, uh, okay, I wanna, uhm, can I go back now?" he squeaked, staring up at Hades. He didn't make eye contact. He was respectful, Hades grudgingly gave him that.

Nico rolled his eyes, but turned back to face Hades anyways. "Yes, can you please send him back?"

Hades raised an eyebrow, and willed himself to shrink down to mortal size. "Well, I would. But first, kindly explain _why _his hand was in contact with yours."

Nico sighed. "It's called a high five, Father. It's usually what friends do whenever something happens that they enjoy."

"So he's your friend."

"Why else would he be high-fiving me?"

"Oh, I don't know…" A thought struck Hades. The boy that Aphrodite had been screeching about… "His name wouldn't be Will Solace, would it?"

Will yelped and cowered in his corner. Nico raised an eyebrow. "Actually, it is. How do you know this?"

Hades growled, and stomped up to Will. Will raised his arms up to shield himself. "Why?! Why now?!" he cried. "Give my love to my siblings!"

"_You're _the boy that Aphrodite has been 'shipping' with my son?!" Hades squawked. Behind him, he could hear the bones of his skeleton warriors clattering to life, and Nico's thinly veiled gasp of surprise. "I don't give a damn if your father is Apollo, but if you've been doing anything to mess with my son-"

Will lowered his arms, blinking in surprise. "Wait, what? Why would I be doing anything with Nico?" he asked. "I didn't ask for people to think that we belong together as a couple."

"Oh, really?" Hades sneered.

Will whimpered again. "No-No, sir! It just-It just came out of nowhere, honestly, I had nothing to do with it!"

"If you're lying-"

"Father!"

Hades turned to face Nico, who looked slightly panicked. "Yes?"

"Father, he's telling the truth. Neither of us had any idea why people thought we should start dating. But they did. We had nothing to do with it. Now, you can just let Will go…"

Hades glowered, but stepped away from Will. The skeleton warriors collapsed into piles of bones, and melted back into the ground. Nico sighed in relief.

Will slowly sank down against the wall. "I'm not dead…I'm not dead…Holy shit…" he whispered, staring straight ahead.

Nico walked over to him and kicked his leg. "Get up, you idiot."

"Can I just lie down for a few minutes?" Will asked weakly, before falling over on his side.

Hades raised an eyebrow. "I was expecting someone like Percy Jackson."

Nico groaned. "Father, can you not?"

"He's not." Hades stroked his chin. The Will that he had been seeing in his mind was the fearless son of Apollo, leading his cabin into battle and defeating the enemy with just a single arrow, ever since Aphrodite had first squealed about 'Solangelo.' This Will was a complete coward, who dropped his bow within five seconds of arriving in the Underworld and was currently slumped over and hyperventilating on his side. "Much better."

Nico stared. "Father…?"

"Hmm?" Hades raised his other eyebrow. Perhaps Aphrodite was on to something here. If Nico had to end up with a numbskull, better a cowardly numbskull such as Will Solace than an arrogant numbskull of his brother's such as Percy Jackson.

Not that Hades approved. Far from it.

"Father, please. Didn't you say that you only wanted to talk to me? Send Will back," Nico pleaded. The neutral look on his face was forced, as though he was struggling to hide his true feelings

This surprised Hades. How did Nico feel about Will? He had never brought him up, like how he had continuously brought up Percy Jackson. Was his son _hiding _something? Did he hate Will? Like him? Hades wasn't sure.

"If that is what you want, my son," Hades replied, before turning back to the son of Apollo.

Will was standing up on shaky legs now, breathing slightly faster than normal. "Look, I seriously don't know why they started to 'ship' us, I have no intentions to date your son, Lord Hades-"

Hades cut him off. "Son of Apollo."

Will glanced up. "Y-Yes?"

"My son has requested that you be brought back to the mortal world."

Will paused, before nodding. "Oh, okay. Thanks, Nico!"

"Shut it, Solace."

Will grumbled.

Hades ignored their exchange, for the most part. "So if you don't want to stay down here-"

"I don't want to!" Will turned bright red. "I-I mean, this is a great place and all, but I have to go back, oh gods please don't smite me for insulting you-"

Hades scowled. He was starting to get irritating. "Begone, mortal." And with a wave of his hand, Will Solace disappeared.

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Father."

"Hmph." Hades stared at Nico, until the demigod had to glance away.

"What is it? If you need to talk to me about something-"

"What is Will Solace to you?" Hades demanded.

Nico froze up, and Hades mentally patted himself on the back. He knew that there was more to Will Solace than Nico had let on. "Um, he's a…he's a friend?"

Hades shook his head slowly. "No. There's something else there. He hasn't hurt you in any way, has he?"

Nico shook his head as well. "No, Father, he hasn't."

"You are not telling me everything."

Hades could've sworn that Nico's face started to turn red. "He's just a friend, okay? There's nothing there-nothing at _all_."

"You like him," Hades guessed.

Nico _did _blush this time. "No-no! It's not like that! He's just-I just-"

Hades chuckled, and Nico stopped stammering. "Do not worry, my son. He is better than that infidel Jackson."

"Father, there's nothing-"

Hades held up a hand for silence. "Let us walk, shall we?"

***I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE, WOAH-OH! AND I FEEL GOOD! YEAH!***

Needless to say, it was quite a shock for the entire Apollo cabin to wake up the next morning when an angry god of the dead appeared in a column of green flames.

"What the fuck?!" Alex yelped and fell out of zher bed. Laurel burst into tears and ran over to Alice's bed, sobbing in Portuguese. Gordon and Samuel were frozen, while Kayla, Austin, and Meredith attempted to calm down the rest of the younger children.

"WILL SOLACE!" Hades boomed, storming over to Will's bed.

Will himself was frozen as well, and was visibly paling as Hades strode closer to him. "Y-Yes, sir?"

Hades seemed to grow taller in that instant, as he glared down at Will. "I _swear_, Will Solace," he spat, "that if you do _not _marry my son, your punishment in the Underworld will be far from merciful!" And with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Gordon lifted the covers off from his head, pushing up his signature shades. "What was _that_ all about?" he asked, staring at everyone with wide olive green eyes.

Meredith shrugged, reaching out for her wheelchair, which Austin pushed towards her. "I don't know. How did you anger Hades, Will?"

Will was staring off into space. "'Marry?'" he asked. "Why would he say that?"

"Maybe he ships it now? Like, Persephone got to him or something," Samuel suggested. "Does Persephone even ship it?"

Kayla shuddered. "I'm officially scared now."

Will glanced up at Alex, who shook zher head and mouthed 'I did nothing' at him.

The incident was unmentioned for the rest of the day, although during cabin inspection Hansika had to ask why there was skull-shaped burn marks on the floor. Instead of telling her why, everyone blamed Gordon and his crazy Arts and Crafts ideas. Gordon was later found behind his cabin, hitting his head repeatedly with a pillow and muttering "And they think that Apollo kids are bad liars" over and over.

* * *

**Sorry that this is so forced, I have a ton of schoolwork and I wanted to finish this before the deadline. Plus my computer battery is at 7 percent and I forgot my charger holy shit.**

**Yay, this fic officially has over one hundred thousand words! What an achievement!**

***party poppers explode over all of the Percy Jackson characters***

***Percy Jackson characters stare at me doing awkward jazz hands***

**Me: I'm gonna go over in this corner and reevaluate my life now…**

**Nico: Please. *Will smacks him upside the head***

***squints eyes at you***

***whispers* **_**Have you read "The Wrath of Python" and "Had a Crush Club" yet**_

_**Because if not YOU **__**MUST**_

**And if anyone's a Homestuck, I made Andrew Hussie despairing over Meenah/Vriska being a thing my phone background.**

**I'm still in shock over Meenah/Vriska. I wasn't expecting that.**

**I need to write fics about them being cute girlfriends now.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	23. Chapter 23: Kleenexes Come in Black?

**Happy MLK day to my fellow Americans!**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Guest: Yup, that's the song and the band!**

**Guest/thereadingturtle: Not including this chapter, we're two chapters away! And hearts must always beat lol.**

**Guest: Canon without a doubt.**

**Shipper: I really need to talk more about Laurel, don't I. But that would involve a PowerPoint presentation, so maybe right now isn't the best time! Don't worry, I'll be publishing a story someday about all the lost scenes in this story. (And I'm a sucker for stories with Annabeth/Percy/Nico, but shh don't tell anyone. It's always the three-way relationships that get me.)**

**Another one of my ideas whoop.**

**Disclaimer: *Listen to "Anaconda" for the tune for this disclaimer***

_**MY ANACONDA DON'T**_

_**MY ANACONDA DON'T**_

_**MY ANACONDA DON'T OWN PERCY JACKSON**_

_**OR HEROES OF OLYMPUS, BRUH!**_

* * *

**C**hapter 23: Kleenexes Come In Black?

"I swear, out of every idea that we've had so far, this one is the weirdest," Lacy muttered, sticking her head out from behind the cabin.

"Get back here!" Drew hissed, yanking her half-sister back.

"Hey, can't you move?" Amelia whined. "I can't see!"

"Both of you shut up!"

They did.

Lacy was right: Out of every idea that the Aphrodite cabin had used, this one was rather strange, and was less likely to work than that random one that involved kicking a cow over a hot air balloon (The creator of that idea was still unknown, and people preferred it that way).

"And it's a good idea," Amelia defended. "I mean, it's basically a classic!"

Drew rolled her eyes. "I don't care, let's just hope that it works."

"I still can't believe black Kleenexes actually exist," Lacy muttered. "I mean, why? So that people can disguise that their eye makeup is smearing when they cry?" She paused. "Actually, that's a good idea. I take back everything I said against black Kleenex. I want some now."

"They're coming! They're coming!" Amelia squealed. "Ooh, I can't wait!" She jumped up and down excitedly. Drew shushed her.

Nico di Angelo casually tossed his sword up into the air as he strolled past the Aphrodite cabin, causing Will Solace to lean away from him and said sword. The Kleenex in question was stuffed in Nico's pocket, the top part of it hanging out.

The plan had been simple enough: Dare Nico to drop the Kleenex in front of the Aphrodite cabin, using a little convincing from Amelia's platonic powers. Of course, the redhead had created it herself. The only reason that her sisters had gone along with it was because Amelia had pointed out how it was very similar to what some ladies did back in the day: They would drop their handkerchief to attract a man's attention, and he would pick it up.

What could possibly go wrong?

"Ooh! Ooh! He's reaching into his pocket!" Amelia whisper-squealed, bouncing again. Drew would've shushed her, but she was just as eager to see it work as Amelia was.

Nico casually reached into the pocket that held the Kleenex and yanked it out, letting it drift casually to the ground. The three daughters of Aphrodite held their breaths. Would Will notice? Would he do the gentlemanly thing and pick it up? Oh, how they hoped so.

Will glanced down at Nico's hand, and then stared at the Kleenex as it drifted slowly to the ground. He stopped walking entirely, and Nico stopped with him.

The son of Hades frowned. "What?"

Will pointed at the tissue. "Is that a Kleenex?" he asked.

Nico glanced down at the tissue, blinking in surprise. "Yeah, guess it is."

"You just dropped a tissue."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Without warning, Will slapped his hand on Nico's forehead. He yelped and lurched back. "Solace, what the fuck-" Amelia started hyperventilating, and Drew and Lacy turned back to shush her.

"No fever-at least, not yet."

"What are you even talking about?"

Will scoffed. "Oh, please. It's January-it's winter! Flu season, not the winter season, if you ask me. I'm not risking you having the flu, there's enough people in the infirmary as there is. Now, you're coming with me, Death Boy."

"_Don't_ call me-HEY!"

Will had latched his fingers around Nico's wrist, and started to drag him in the direction of the infirmary. "I am going to give you a checkup, because if you really do have the flu, a cold, or even plain old allergies, I will make good on my threat from before Christmas about chaining you to a bed in the infirmary.

"Solace, I'm fine, I wasn't even aware of that tissue-"

"Doctor's orders, di Angelo!"

"You're not even a real doctor!"

"Don't crush my dreams."

As Nico's sounds of protest faded off into the distance, Lacy facepalmed and Drew turned to glare at a sheepish Amelia.

"I sorta forgot that he was a son of Apollo?" she said weakly.

"Great going, Amelia," Drew scowled. "We've been trying since August, and yet nothing will work! Nearly six months of hard work down the drain…" She moaned, rubbing her temples. "All of these migraines cann_ot _be good for me."

Amelia winced. "Sorry, Drew," she mumbled.

"It's alright, hon. We'll just find some other way."

Lacy snapped her fingers. "Wait a sec. It's January, right?" Her voice sounded more strained than usual.

Drew nodded. "What, did you miss the fireworks three weeks ago?"

Lacy stared at her, and then at Amelia. "Amelia, what's next month?"

"Um, February. Why?" Then her green eyes widened. "Oh, gods."

"Valentine's Day! Less than a month away, and we still haven't finished planning everything!" Lacy cried, shaking her hands up and down, as she always did whenever she got upset.

"Valentine's-Shit!" Drew cursed, running a hand through her hair slowly. "We got so preoccupied with our latest OTP, we completely forgot about the dance, the party-Oh!" Her eyes widened. "The list of couples to try to get together!"

Lacy nodded. "Quick, back to the cabin. We _have _to work on that! Maybe if we pray to Mom…"

Her sisters nodded eagerly, and they raced back into their cabin. As the door slammed shut behind them, a graceful figure stepped out from behind the Ares cabin. She was nearly impossible to look at. Her hair's length and color would change in the blink of an eye, along with her skin tone and eye shape and color. Her nose went from button to strong and back again. With each step that she took, she either lost or gained inches. Her body shape also changed, going from impossibly skinny to beautifully curvy, and her long white dress changed sizes to fit her perfectly. Moles and freckles appeared and disappeared. She was dizzying to look at, and yet she was so gorgeous that you couldn't tear your eyes away.

As she stared at the Aphrodite cabin, her appearance suddenly stopped shifting. Her hair was short and curly, the golden color of the sun. Her eyes matched the blue of the sky above her. Her skin darkened from tan to a dark brown, and she shot up to around six feet. Her body grew a few sizes, until her dress no longer hung loose on her. The dress in question shimmered, until it had become a Camp Half-Blood tank top with denim shorts. The golden necklace around her neck shimmered as well, until it had become a standard Camp necklace with exactly thirteen beads. Freckles lit up around her body.

In short, she was practically a female Will Solace.

"Oh, my dear girls…" she sighed, and suddenly her appearance changed again. Her skin lightened up to become an Italian tan, and all but a few freckles faded away. She shrunk down to a few inches above five feet, and her body shrunk again until she was nearly a skeleton. Her hair became wavy and ebony black, swishing above her shoulder. Her eyes darkened until they were dark brown. Her clothes shimmered again, becoming a black bomber's jacket with a skull shirt and dark jeans. A sword shimmered into existence at her side. The necklace disappeared.

"However shall I help you?" Aphrodite whispered, before she slowly faded away, so nobody would see her and question why Nico di Angelo had suddenly become a girl.

* * *

**Well, Aphrodite is **_**finally**_** getting involved. You know what this means?**

**Brace yourselves. Drama is coming.**

**What movie is that even from anyways. Or what show. Because I see pictures of it everywhere, plus it was referenced in a Thomas Sanders Vine. Can someone tell me? I've been wondering since 2012, at least.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	24. Chapter 24: The Lament of Aphrodite, pt1

**Happy one-day-late birthday to EffervescentGrace, the author of "Wrong Number!" You're older than me now goddammit. Hahah kidding I still love you Chelsee.**

**Well, this one isn't very long either. But next chapter will definitely make up for that.**

**And sorry for the wait! Life sucks, and so do all of my school projects ew.**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Guest: Aphrodite is back in the game, and we're all gonna go insane!**

**Guest: *sassy z-snap***

**Guest: The difference is the Titans aren't knocking down Wall Maria and nobody is turning into Titans. Well, except for Luke.**

**Guest: Sorry for the wait, here it is!**

**Guest: I am lacking in the bae department (More time for fics lol). Thank you! (Are you themortalhalfbloodgames)**

**Guest: Sorry Guest! I'm bad with languages that aren't English. I'll fix it the first chance I get!**

**IEOh no: It popped into my head I had to do it. And thank you!**

**Toolazytodream: AYYYYYYYYYYYYY SISTERS GRIMM FANS UNITE *rips off bathrobe to reveal shirt saying "SABRINA AND PUCK FOREVER"* Thank you!**

**Pi not Pie: Yeee I shaded Eminem bc he wrote a song that involved abusing a woman and another one as a joke (Sadly his most iconic song-"The Real Slim Shady.") And why wouldn't Hades go back to yell at Will? Thank you! You might not want Aphrodite to get involved though. Just saying. And that'll be in two chapters or so! And here's the next update!**

**Guest: Cool! Also I misread that as Asburgers and I was really confused for a sec lmao.**

**Chapter idea goes to Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu! Yes, you know what is going to happen…**

**Disclaimer: I think Rick Riordan doesn't discuss Solangelo in church with his friend. (No that legit happened I talked about Solangelo with my friend while we were in our church for a thing she nearly hit me when I told her about my sadder Solangelo ideas.)**

* * *

**C**hapter 24: The Lament of Aphrodite, part 1

"Oh. My. _FATES_!" a female voice shrilled.

Cupid flipped to the next page of _Olympus Weekly_. "Welcome, Mother," he greeted, without lifting his eyes up from the magazine.

Aphrodite was fuming. You could tell by how her body refused to change from its current form, which was currently a fifteen-year-old Italian girl, with short black hair and shadowed dark brown eyes. Her clothes also remained the same-dark, with skulls as an accessory.

"Ooh!" The only difference between her and Nico di Angelo currently, besides the gender, was how her face held so much more expression than his usually did. Her lips were pulled down into one of her rare pouts. "I just cannot-How could they-Ooh!" She stamped her foot angrily, pink ripples echoing off from its impact onto the floor. "It's taking them so long, and I can see why now!"

Cupid chuckled. "I told you, Mother. They're fighting a lost cause."

Aphrodite threw her hands up in the air. "Obviously!" She started to stomp around the throne room of Olympus, pink circles appearing wherever her feet touched. "Ugh, it's that stupid ritual they came up with. They're so used to getting people together only to break them up that nothing they do will work." She stopped and sighed. "I should've blessed their cabin sooner."

"Mother, you're only sticking to one form again. And it's _that _form."

Aphrodite looked down at herself and pulled a face. "Oh, Fates. I can't believe that I stuck to _this _form. I'm so skinny in this!" She groaned, and her appearance changed again. She shot up a few inches and her skin darkened until it was nearly pitch-black. Her hair turned pitch-black and did itself in braids, shooting down to her waist. Her body expanded until she was chubby, and her outfit changed to a pastel blue sundress. Her eyes became dark brown. "Better. Honestly, I have no idea why people think skinny is the only beautiful. I don't know what those mortals are thinking. Honey, if you can see any of your bones, it's time to gain weight!"

"True, true." Cupid flipped to the next page of the magazine.

Aphrodite stared at him, before walking over in her new sandals. "What are you doing here, anyways? I thought I told you to go keep an eye on all of those other ships?"

Cupid didn't glance up from the page he was on. "Yeah, well, it gets boring. I swoop in, shoot a few arrows, stir up emotions, then swoop right out."

"Hmm."

Cupid did not like the sound of that. He looked up to see his mother tapping her bottom lip. "Mother? What are you thinking?"

Aphrodite's appearence rippled and changed again. Her skin lightened and freckled, and her hair became short, curly, and red. Her eyes lightened to a crystal blue, and she shrunk a few inches. The dress changed to pure white and the hem lengthened. "Oh, nothing, my son...Just that you can show my demigod children how shipping is really done!"

Cupid did put down his magazine this time. "Mother, are you telling a joke? You know that I don't like being associated with your brats."

Aphrodite glared at him, her appearence changing until she had become a pale, short and skinny girl with scarlet eyes and stringy black hair, in a white dress with red trimmings. "My son, does it look like I care right now?"

Cupid shuddered to himself. He hated this "angry" form of his mother's. It reminded him of...No, that goddess had been forgotten centuries ago, and even if she was still around, Cupid would never allow himself near her. "No, mother."

"Good!" Aphrodite brightened, and in an instant her hair was long, blonde, and wavy, while her eyes returned to crystal blue and she grew a few more inches. "Don't worry, you can bring a friend along if you want to. Bring Favinous?"

Cupid scoffed. "Why wouldn't I? Neither of us have much better to do, anyways."

"Mm." Aphrodite bopped him on the nose, and Cupid scowled. Aphrodite pouted, somehow managing to pull it off gracefully. "It'll be fun! All that you two have to do is talk Will Solace and Nico di Angelo into getting together. And you've had experience with Nico already, haven't you?"

"That didn't go down very well."

Aphrodite shrugged. "It's been six months already. Maybe it'll go better this time!"

Cupid scoffed. "I doubt it."

"Just imagine, Cupid darling. How happy the campers will be! Sacrifices in your honor. More praise to you! More people telling you that you look fabulous today. Try it for me?"

Cupid stared at his mother, but Aphrodite showed no sign of breaking her resolve. Finally, Cupid sighed, and threw his magazine onto the ground. "If you don't make a big deal out of it, I'll do it."

Aphrodite squealed and giggled, before wrapping her arms around her son and pulling him in for a hug. "Oh, yes! This is why you've always been one of my favorite children."

"Quiet, Mother, I have to IM Favinous now."

"Oh, sure. Go right ahead! I'll be waiting."

Cupid sighed as his mother skipped away, her appearence changing again with each step. Cupid did love his mother, but she could be a real handful at times.

***HERE COMES THE SUN, IT'S ALRIGHT***

Amelia yawned as she opened the door. It was eight in the morning-too early to be up, in her opinion. She was the only one up out of her siblings, in fact. So who could be knocking at this ungodly hour?

Turns out she wasn't right about the "ungodly" part.

The door swung open to reveal two men with Greek features. One had curly ginger hair and dark skin, the other black hair and pale skin. The first man had dark blue eyes, but the second's were bloodred. Both wore togas, in a style similar to what Amelia had seen in textbooks describing them.

But the clincher was their wings. Both had long, feathery white wings, sprouting out of their backs, so obvious that it was a wonder that Amelia hadn't seen them before. Both men also gave off an aura, one that spoke of a thousand years of love and loss, of peace and war, that only gods could exberate.

Amelia's jaw dropped open. "Oh my gods. You're...You're both...Holy crap..." She stared at them in disbelief.

The ginger man smiled. "Hello, Amelia! I'm Favinous, and this is my friend Cupid. Please, no autographs. Now, can you please point us in the direction of Will Solace and Nico di Angelo?"

* * *

**I totally did not foreshadow a bit of another story that I have planned okay.**

**HEY GUESS WHAT IT'S NEARLY 3AM save me**

**Thank you all for 50,000+ views, 300+ favorites, 400+ followers, and 570+ reviews! If I break either 60,000 views or 600 reviews I might actually cry okay.**

**Happy late birthday, Nico di Angelo! He turned 15 (19? 91?) on January 28****th****-last Wednesday! I wrote a small one-shot about it! It's called "A Drabbly Birthday" and it can also be found on my AO3, WattPad, and Tumblr!**

**Also, Ghosty (ghostyStarr-Yes, I'm talking about **_**that **_**ghostyStarr), me, and a few other people are organizing a Solangelo weekend! It's gonna be the first full weekend of August. What you do is submit art, fanfictions, and whatnot to us, and we put them in a PDF file for everyone to enjoy! The submitting starts March 1****st****, 2015, and ends July 10****th****, 2015. Four months should be plenty of time for submissions! Check out her tumblr for more information, or contact me or her via PM on here!**

**Speaking of which, there may be *ahem* a collab story *coughs* that involves *hacks* me *hems* and a few *whooping cough* other Solangelo fic famous people *cough up lung* that's about Solangelo *coughs up other lung* and it will involve some of my OCs *coughs up stomach* and we are planning it *coughs up heart and dies***

**I'm not confirming anything. If anyone asks, you heard it from somewhere else.**

**GETTING AWAY FROM THAT…**

**You guys should read "Something to Remember" by biancadiangeno! It's an all-mortal AU, and it centers around Solangelo. Nico can see ghosts in it it's really cool. But a vomit trigger warning for the pie-eating contest scene, I had to skip it myself. You guys should totally read it, though!**

**Expect the next chapter around Saturday or Sunday!**

**Also you might want some chocolate. To prepare.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	25. Chapter 25: The Lament of Aphrodite, pt2

_**Carmilla**_** ruined me, along with the Aphrodite kid!Nico AU that blew up on Tumblr. I wrote a Solangelo one-shot about it called _Glasses_, check it out! Also Dan and Phil games are hilarious.**

**Shoutout to James! EfferevescentGrace told me about you. I'm actually shocked that you brought my story up in conversation I feel so special omg. No but seriously when she told me that when you guys started talking about fanfiction you brought mine up I nearly screamed. If you have an account PM me, we should totally talk sometime! In fact I'm up for talking with all of you lovely readers haha.**

**I was going to go straight to guest reviews but I **_**really **_**need to get hyped over that and something else and something else here okay**

**Okay you guys seriously need to read "The Times, They Are A-Changin'." My OC Shannon Walker was introduced in chapter 3 AND SHE IS JUST SO SWEET AND ADORABLE AND PERFECT AND SPOT-ON LIKE WOW I CAN'T**

**And my aunt gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday! Her name is Natalie and the pics of her are adorable amg**

**Ok guest reviews now**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Guest: Ye**

**Guest: The kiss will be very soon…Oh god don't hurt yourself with this torture.**

**Pi not Pie: You sure that you want this chapter?**

**Guest: Hahaha…Not really. Nico's happiness always comes first okay. He would, but he's still on doctor's orders from Will. Here's the update!**

**Guest: I'll say that they're heating up. And you'll still be dying after this.**

**Doublekitcat: AH YES THANK YOU MY FRIEND! I also love your username omg. I love cats and Kit-Kats.**

**MacaroniCheese: Look, I would reply to the rest of your reviews, but **_**please **_**don't say that I can call myself a demigod now. I used to think that it was cool too, but it's far from the truth. It's not, and I'm not gonna call myself a demigod because of it. Please don't say something like that again.**

**Guest: HERE IS THE UPDATE**

**Guest: I don't think so? I brought up the Addams Family in an earlier author's note, but that's about it, as far as I can remember.**

**This is the continuation of Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu's idea!**

**Disclaimer: You're gonna doubt that I'm not Rick Riordan. But I'm not, I promise.**

* * *

**C**hapter 20: The Lament of Aphrodite, part 2

This was seriously pushing Nico over the edge.

He had woken up early this morning to a knock on his door. And when he said early, he meant an ungodly time where the sun still had yet to rise, and not even Apollo's kids were awake.

But then it got worse. After several minutes of harsh knocking against the door, he had opened it to find Drew Tanaka, of all people, shivering in a long-sleeved blue nightgown and matching slippers. Words had been exchanged, along with multiple death threats, until she convinced him that no, she would _not_ do this again, yes, her sister Amy _did_ send her to get him, and yes, he really needed to get down to the Big House as soon as possible. And no, the Solangelo club actually had nothing to do with it this time.

So Nico followed Drew down to the Big House. She refused to say anything else, but there was a look of genuine fear in her eyes. This was surprising to Nico. What could make Drew so scared?

It was only when he arrived at the Big House that he got his tall, red-eyed, black-haired, winged, and absolute douchebag of a person answer.

Cupid, son of Venus, Drew Tanaka's godly half-sibling, and all in all the dickiest god on Earth. In Nico's very popular opinion, at least.

"Can't you just leave me alone for once?" Nico complained.

He was sitting alone in one of the Big House's multiple rooms, with Cupid sitting across from him. The god was sitting on a chair, his wings tucked in and his arms crossed. He had been staring at Nico for the past few minutes, hardly saying a word. Nico himself was on the couch, legs folded up to his chest and his arms lying on top of them.

Cupid shook his head sadly. "No, I'm afraid that I can't."

Nico scowled. "Why is that?"

The god rearranged himself so that his legs were also crossed. "You see, son of Hades, you have come a long way from what you were at the palace. You've been able to reveal yourself and your feelings to others, and forged new relationships. You have changed. But not enough."

Nico groaned, hitting his head against his knees. "Is there no way for me to please you?"

Cupid continued, as though he hadn't heard him. "You're still holding yourself back. Right now, you're at a point where you can make a relationship stay the same, or change it completely, for better or for worse. And you do nothing? Cowardice."

Nico felt himself bristle. The last time that he had encountered Cupid was bad enough. The guy was all about annoying you, getting himself under your skin and worming out all of your feelings. What was his game now? "It's like you said: for better or for worse. Things could go smoothly or be a hullabaloo as always. And I'd rather not risk the hullabaloo."

"Ah, see? Cowardice. You hold the cards in your hands, and yet you refuse to play them."

"I don't even know what you're talking about! I have no power to change any of my relationships to something…more. None!"

Cupid chuckled, deep and throaty. "Ah, my mother was right. You are both so dense that it's almost enough to tear one's hair out."

Now Nico really was confused. "Both?"

Cupid leaned forward. "Oops, looks as though I let something slip. Yes, I did say that. Are you wondering why?"

Nico fought to keep down the rush of emotions that he knew were threatening to show on his face. "No, I'm not."

"So sad," Cupid tutted. "Because I can tell you all you want to know involving your dilemma with the son of Apollo…"

"Will?" Nico blurted out, before clamping a hand over his mouth. Oh, shit, Cupid was going to have a field day with that.

Cupid grinned. "So you do know what I'm talking about! I knew that you were hiding things from me. Obviously, you're not the only one hiding things."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't stress, don't stress. Just that you've seen how he acts now. Giving you those weird looks, his glares at Percy, his touchiness, his moodiness-it's almost like he's become you."

Nico growled. "Shut up."

Cupid chuckled again. "No, it doesn't work like that. Haven't you asked him about it yet? Wonder why he's acting like that?"

Against his will, Nico nodded. Yes, he had asked Will multiple times about what was bothering him, even though Will avoided it every time. And of course Nico had wondered about it. What kind of…of friend would he be if he haven't?

Cupid straightened back up again. "Well, you see, there is a lot of stress on Will's mind. He's having to deal with some unwanted feelings, after all, and you of all people know what that can do to a person."

"Please stop."

"I can tell you what you want to know."

Nico's heart pounded. Cupid knew what was stressing Will out? _Well, of _course_ he does,_ he mentally chided himself. _Cupid's up in everyone's business, that jackass._ "You-You do?" he asked.

Cupid nodded. "Why, yes, of course I do. After all, it does fall under my domain."

Nico decided to ignore that. "And you really do know?"

Cupid raised an eyebrow. "Do you mock me? Why don't I just tell you?"

Nico couldn't believe it. After all these months, wondering what was bothering Will, he could finally know what it was?

But…No. Nico couldn't do that. No matter what he felt for him, Will was his friend. And friends couldn't just invade each other's privacy like that. If Will would ever tell him what was bothering him, then he'd tell him himself. Someday.

"No."

Cupid raised an eyebrow. "You say no? Aren't you dying to know what it is?"

"I said no." Nico glared at Cupid. "I'm not betraying Will's privacy like that. If he wants to tell me, then he'll tell me."

Cupid stared at him, and for a second Nico thought that he was about to be killed in some horrible way. Probably shot by multiple arrows of love. But then Cupid did something surprising: He threw his head back and laughed.

"What?" Nico asked, confused.

Cupid stopped laughing, and looked at Nico with a wide grin. "Perhaps I was mistaken. Indeed, you have grown in ways other than I expected."

"Oh." Nico wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Will you be going now?"

Cupid pursed his lips together. "No, I'm afraid not. My escort just so happens to be in another room, and I can't exactly leave without him."

"Favinous? What's he doing here?"

"Sort of the same job as me, except my mother wants him to talk to a certain someone who's not you."

Nico's stomach plummeted. "Will."

"Yes, that's it, and-Where are you going?!"

But Nico had already leapt off the couch and raced out the door. Wherever Will was, he had to find him. Gods know what Favinous was up to.

***UPTOWN FUNK IS GONNA GIVE IT TO YA***

Favinous was mocking him somehow, Will just knew it. The god's lips were pulled down in an exaggerated pout, and his eyes were sparkling and huge like a puppy's. "Aw, why don't you listen to me?" he complained.

"Because these stories that you're telling me are just weird and have no point? I already know about Hyacinthus! And I don't need to hear about any more of your love affairs!" Will protested.

Will was having a bad day. Amy from Aphrodite, of all people, had woken him up earlier than he usually got up at. Then she dragged him to the Big House, to listen to some god complain about the tragedies of his sex life. His father had been bad enough, but this was just cruel.

"I'm just trying to help!" Favinous argued back, crossing his arms. His wings fluttered, lifting him momentarily off of his chair. "My advice will come in handy someday-trust me!"

Will growled, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Really? How? By telling me to avoid discus fights?"

Favinous tutted. "Nooooo. Haven't you picked up on the moral of the stories?"

"_What_ moral?"

The god shrugged. "To just go for it, man. I mean, you're all gonna die in the end, so why not just do it all?"

Will stared. "You can't be serious."

Favinous laughed gently. "I'm a god. Most of the time, we are very serious."

"Whatever. You have to be here for another reason. I'm sick of all of these gods coming out of nowhere and disturbing my life."

"Hmm…" Favinous tapped his lip. "Well, I suppose I could tell you. I mean, Cupid's probably already told him and all…"

"What?"

"Oops," Favinous muttered, pausing mid-tap. "Well, let's just say that I'm not the only god, and let's just say that that other god who we are not naming right now is talking to another demigod."

"Cupid's here."

Favinous sighed. "Yes, he is."

"Who is he talking to?"

The god looked at him. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Not telling."

"Are you _serious_?"

"We gods are very serious most of the time."

The gears began to turn in Will's head. Every time that a god had talked to him in the past few months, it had been because of the little shipping business that he was trying to ignore. So if Cupid was here, and he was talking to another demigod…

"Nico!" Will jolted upright. "Why is Cupid talking to Nico?!"

"His mother sent us. She's getting temperamental about this whole business of shipping you with him, and decided to take matters in her own hands."

But Will was only half-listening. He knew that Nico had encountered Cupid before, although Nico refused to tell him about what had happened between them. Will just let the subject drop, guessing that he would tell him in time.

Yet it bothered him. Cupid was the god of love, even if his powers weren't as strong as his mothers. He cursed people to fall in love with his bows and arrows, pretty much ruining their lives. If he targeted you specifically, it was game over for your love life. But Nico never mentioned liking someone before, so why was Cupid talking to him?

Wait, he did. Percy fucking Jackson.

Okay, it was a long shot, since Will had only heard this from Amy and Martha's conversation on Halloween. But it made sense. Nico seemed more awkward around Percy than he was with all of his other friends, and there were times when Will could've sworn he saw Nico staring/glaring at Percy. Not to mention that Percy had a lot of the same activities as Nico did, and both of them were pretty chummy with each other.

Maybe he was jumping to conclusions here, but Nico almost seemed to have a crush on Percy. And when you added that with the fact that Cupid was here…

Cupid was talking about Percy with Nico. He had to be.

Will took a shaky breath. "I'm leaving."

Favinous glanced back up from his wing, where he had been picking dirt out of it. "Huh?"

"I-I have to go. My cabin will be wondering where I am." Will stood up and stomped over to the door.

"Wait! I wasn't done-"

_SLAM!_

The door was shut so hard behind Will that the entire room trembled. Favinous cringed. "Ah, shit, Aphrodite is gonna kill me," he muttered.

***I expect to see reviews after this segment.***

Two doors slammed shut, and Amy and Drew jumped.

"Are they done? It's only been a few minutes?" Amy wondered.

"Yeah, we should go find them. What if those gods, I don't know…" Drew gestured vaguely. "You know how gods can get."

"Yeah." Amy leapt off the couch. "Hey, did you hear that?"

Drew concentrated, and heard what sounded like a very faint, "Will? Will! Will, where are you?"

"It's Nico! Gods, we better find him." Amy ran in his direction.

"Wait! Amy, who has seniority over-"

But the redhead was gone. Muttering several Japanese curses, Drew jogged after her. She was wishing that she had brought her inhaler.

By the time that she caught up to her, Amy was chattering away to a confused Nico. She hunched over and began to pant.

"I mean, two gods? You kinda have to listen to that-Drew! Are you okay?"

"Fine." Drew waved awkwardly at them. "We found Nico. Where's Will?"

"Right here."

Everyone jumped. Drew nearly got whiplash when she jerked her head up to see Will, and the sight of him made both her immortal and mortal blood run cold.

If it had been deemed impossible to look angry in an old Mickey Mouse shirt and pajama pants before, then Will certainly made it possible now. What had happened between him and Favinous?

"Will!" Nico sounded relieved. "Cupid said that you were with Favinous. What did he say to you?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about I tell you after you tell me what you and Cupid talked about?"

Drew didn't think that it was possible for children of Apollo to sound frosty. Unless if it was Alice, but she was just grumpy all-around. But Will sounded deeply angry, and all of Drew's instincts told her to back away from him.

"Um, Amy, hon, let's stand over here while they sort this out," Drew said, gently tugging on Amy's arm.

"What? Drew, what's going on?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to be in the middle of it," Drew told her as she yanked her against the wall.

Will and Nico continued speaking. "What? We didn't talk about a lot either. He told me that you were with Favinous, though, so I had to go and find you."

"Really? Not anything else?"

Nico's face flushed pink. "He wanted to continue our…last encounter."

Drew and Amy shared twin looks of shock. Nico had met Cupid _before_? And Cupid had wanted to talk to him _again_? This was getting weirder and weirder.

"Oh, yeah, that one." Will stepped closer to Nico, his arms still crossed.

Nico wasn't budging. "Look, what's your problem? Did Favinous do something to make you mad? Because both he and Cupid can be jerks, trust me-"

"This isn't about Favinous and the visit he paid to me."

"Really? Then what is it?" Nico snapped. Amy gasped, then clasped a hand over her mouth.

"You wanna know what's been bothering me for the last few months? Why I keep on avoiding it whenever you bring it up?"

Drew was confused. "Uh, what is he talking about?" she whispered to Amy, who just shrugged.

"Well, yeah. Of course I do. Why do you think I kept on asking you about it?" Nico glared at Will, crossing his arms.

"It was obvious that you wanted to know."

"Yeah, so you should've just told me whatever the damn thing was!"

"Oh, no, you should've told me whatever it was."

Nico's face twisted in confusion. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, just that you have a crush on someone?" Will spat.

Amy clutched at Drew's arm, and it took all of Drew's willpower not to shove her off.

Nico's face turned even redder. "What-I-I do not have a crush on anyone!"

"Liar."

Nico glared at Will again. "Shut up."

"No. I know what you were talking about with Cupid."

"Oh, really? Enlighten me then, Solace. What was I talking about with Cupid?" The temperature in the room seemed to drop two degrees with every word that Nico spoke.

"Your crush."

"Oh, yeah? Who's my crush?"

"Percy."

_What? He…what? What is Will talking about? _Drew was even more confused.

Nico seemed to be as confused as Drew was. "What…Percy? You think that I like-what?"

"It's true, isn't it?" Will asked.

"Where did you get this idea from?"

"A little bird was talking about it with her friend." Will stopped glaring at Nico to glare at Amy.

"Amelia. What did you do?" Drew whispered as calmly as she could.

"Nothing! I don't even know what he's talking about-oh." Her face turned almost the same color as her freckles. "On Halloween, I was talking with Martha…"

Drew facepalmed.

Nico stepped up to Will. "What, one daughter of Aphrodite says something, and all of a sudden you believe it? Since when could you trust their gossip?"

Will turned back to Nico. "What was I supposed to think? After I heard her say it, so many things clicked into place. You act differently around Percy than you do your other friends."

"Because they're different people?"

"Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"About liking Percy?"

"Yes!"

"Gods of Olympus-Will, this is _not_ what you think it is."

"Really?" Will was raising his voice at this point. "Maybe you should've said something about it sooner, then!"

"I didn't even know that people were talking about this! Why would I bring it up?!" Now Nico was shouting as well.

"This is what friends do! They tell each other things, not just shove them away and forget about them!"

"Oh, so I'm being a shitty friend?! Wow, thanks, I'm not even surprised! The son of Hades is a shitty friend! News at eleven, followed by 'Holy fuck Apollo is the god of poetry! Wow, no wonder he spews haikus everywhere!'"

"Don't you _dare_ bring my father into this."

"Sooner or later, you'll bring _mine_ into this!"

"Why?!"

"You know damn well who my father is!" Every shadow in the room pointed towards Nico. Drew and Amy yelped when their shadows followed the path of the others, but neither boy heard them.

"He's hardly relevant to this!" Will shouted.

"Oh, yeah, because this is about how _shit_ of a friend I am!" The shadows began to coil around Nico now, but if either boy noticed, they didn't say a word.

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that you did a shitty thing that friends sometimes do that they really shouldn't do!"

"What, tell their other friends about some 'crush' that they have on one of their other friends?!"

"Yes!"

"Is that what we are to you?! Friends?!"

"What did you think, we had something more?!"

Drew could've sworn that she saw tears glistening in Nico's eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking, but obviously I was wrong!"

"What were you thinking, then?!"

"Shut UP!" Nico screamed, and the room exploded into darkness. Amy and Drew shrieked, covering their eyes. Pounding feet were the only other thing that Drew could make out, and a door slamming shut.

By the time that the darkness had cleared, Nico was gone. Will stared at where he had stood, breathing heavily, hands clenched into fists.

"…Will? Is everything alright, hun?" Drew asked tentatively.

Will shouted something and slammed his fist into the wall next to him. Drew squeaked and backed away.

Amy stepped forward. "Will, I'm sorry, I was just joking with Martha! I didn't know that you heard what we said-"

Will muttered something.

"What was that?"

He whirled around. "Shut _up_! I don't want your apologies right now! All I want is for you to never speak to me again, and to never gossip about Nico again!" he yelled. Amy backed into the wall, looking absolutely terrified.

Drew swallowed. "Do you want us to do something?" she murmured.

"Just…Just go away and leave me alone…" Will's voice cracked on the last word, and he wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Oh, gods, I just fucked everything up…"

Drew nodded. "Right. Amy, follow me."

Amy didn't protest, she only nodded and followed Drew out of the hallway. As they walked towards the front doors of the Big House, she could've sworn that she heard what sounded like crying. But there wasn't anything that she could do about it.

The matter was out of her hands, out of everyone's hands, because it looked like Will and Nico would never want to speak to each other again.

* * *

_**Am I more than you bargained for yet?**_

_**I've been dying to write this chapter**_

_**Since I read Ippiki Ookami's idea**_

**All comments, questions, and/or concerns may be directed to the review box, my PM Inbox, and/or my Tumblr at autisticwillsolace! Yes, I changed my URL lmfao. The link to my Tumblr may be found at the top of my profile page on this site, although it may not be for a while.**

**And if you know me in real life (Looking at you, Shi) next time you see me you can punch me in the face.**

**Have a lovely day!**

**Also prolly gonna go and clean this one up later bluh**

**Bluh I'm actually really glad that this is up and written now I've just been subconsciously putting it off lol. Along with being so dissatisfied with certain scenes and certain things ugh.**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	26. Chapter 26: Kiss, Kiss-Fall in Love!

**You can find the links to everyone's outfits in my profile! I'll be setting them up later.**

**I'm sorry for the late update! My computer still isn't fixed, I have to take it in to the shop. But, fortunately, all of my files and whatnot have been saved! Thanks for all of the well wishes, you guys *insert heart here***

**Wasn't the last chapter just so thrilling? I even sparked a review out of Chelsee! Ah, I mean EffervescentGrace.**

**But seriously, I'm a bit shocked by the reaction. Did I not warn you guys?**

**ALSO 700 REVIEWS WOW! THANKS SO MUCH!**

**GUEST REVIEWS**

**Toolazytodream: *falls dramatically out of bed* *screeches* MY SKILL LEVEL IS NOWHERE NEAR THAT OF AN ACTUAL BOOK OMFG. Ah yes have an update. UH IT IS *NOT* PHENOMENAL (you spelled it right tho so kudos to u). Yeah, the rest of my week was…iffy, to put it at best.**

**Hikaru: Sorry. Have this to make up for any tears that I have caused! And Will and Nico dancing to Uptown Funk would be amazing holy crap.**

**Guest: Shh I soothe your tears with this chapter**

**Guest: I'LL BE YOUR NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET-SHOT YOU WITH CHAPTER 25 AND I DON'T REGRET IT! Not sorry never sorry lmao. Thank you, and here's the update!**

**SweetNibblets: Why don't you read on and find out?**

**Pi not Pie: Why not? And read to find out…**

**Reynaromana: Will is so far from okay man. And thanks about my characterization of the gods! And yes he is. Nah, Nico wouldn't go **_**that**_** far (I think). Thanks for trying to get me to 666 reviews! That headcanon fits him so well omg. And me too. Aw, wish I had midwinter break! No apologies lmao. And you have to approve guest reviews. Dear Christ be careful, that's a lot of coffee beans. ENOUGH TO MAKE MY SYSTEMS GO-OH MY GODS SOLANGELO, SOLANGELO, OH MY GODS SOLANGELO, SO-LAN-GE-LO! I'm going to tell my Chemistry teacher that Valentine. Are you okay now?**

**Guest: Oh, yes.**

**ChocoChopsticks: Thanks! Wait how do you know about "APOLLO!" then bc that was literally over two years ago. Yeah, I was pretty young. THAT'S NOT INSPIRING THO AHAH. Yes, we had literally no idea about Nico's sexuality. I can just hear 13-year-old me screaming about it again. I'm (mostly) mature now. Yes, times **_**have**_** changed! "APOLLO!" definitely isn't the best, it's the worst (besides Cupcakes, Dipper Goes to Taco Bell, Wirt Goes to McDonald's, Homestuck High, and My Immortal though). I've barely evolved tho lmao. Yes Uncle Rick please make my OC's canon. NO APOLOGIES ABOUT CHAPTER 25 HAHA. Hm, I have seen that. We do tend to baby Nico, and Will is the guilty party of a lot of their fights. I HAVE NOT GROWN AT ALL. Shh you are though if you wrote any fanfiction I would definitely read it. I AM NOT THAT'S LIKE GHOSTYSTARR AND BIANCADIANGENO AND EFFEREVESCENTGRACE AND MOONSHROOM420 AND MORBIDBOOKWORM AND A THOUSAND OTHER WRITERS! But you're welcome!**

**Guest: Here's the update!**

**Guest: *eye twitch* Ah. I forgot about that. *rams head into table*. Yup, it just all went to shit! Proves that you shouldn't believe every rumor that you hear lol.**

**Nowdeadthanks: Oh my god your username thing I shouldn't be laughing I'm a terrible person. Did I seriously make you that sad? Omg.**

**Guest: **_**How could this happen to meeeeeee, I've made my mistaaaaaaakes…**_

**Guest: Are you Gamzee in disguise my good sir**

**UPDATEUPDATE: I'm so sorry that it's a week late, but here you go!**

**Hiro Helena: Thank you!**

**Guest: I meant that I'm okay with Guest Reviews. Because after I take down the chapter, all reviews will still exist, which means that people with accounts wouldn't be able to review again. And, trust me, everyone will want to review this chapter.**

**Swag: Thanks!**

**Guest: Ahh thank you!**

**Sadaboutnoupdate: I couldn't just leave you guys hanging if I could provide the reason why I couldn't update! And thank you! I honestly couldn't just leave out other sexualities and genders, since I'm part of the ones that people leave out (Genderfluid and pan, anyone?). Thank you!**

**0kayDamMundies: It was all of the books that I didn't have yet, which were Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines. I love Ninjago! I watched it voluntarily lol. Zane's my favorite, and I honestly can't choose a least favorite out of the Seven currently. And Jay is so much like Leo! Oh, yeah, I do that sometimes lol. Gogo is like Thalia, now that you mention it lmao. Oh, he would. Ahh I have too many songs with Solangelo feels. Huh, that is weird. Yes, everyone did that the moment Apollo spewed haikus. And honestly Thalia wouldn't be swayed either way, she got no time for romance. Lexi is me whenever I have no homework lol. I don't know, I could probably do that. I don't know, I haven't seen all of their videos. I'm relatively new to the fandom! Uh, where is that from? Oh, I see. But I don't really ship them anyways. And if it bothers him, then shouldn't people stop?**

**Guest: What**

**0kayDamMundies: Oh, I see. That must have been a shocker. Yes, Amy is Amelia, but people either call her Amelia or Amy. It depends. I switch between Hades and Apollo, honestly.**

**Disclaimer: I think the fact that I referenced an anime in the chapter title should be proof that I am not Rick Riordan. Consider the title an apology for last chapter, Chelsee, and everyone else that knows what anime I'm talking about! Also, I'm terrible at first kiss scenes, especially if they're two guys. Eheh. Heads up.**

* * *

**C**hapter 26: Kiss, Kiss-Fall In Love!

Percy may have been famous for being one of the most oblivious demigods in both camps, and possibly the world, but he could tell when something was up.

Nico was disappearing left and right. He definitely wasn't shadow-traveling, but he seemed to decide that leaving his cabin was pointless. After almost two straight days of hoarding himself up in there, he emerged, but he had changed back to his old self-sullen and avoiding questions. All he needed was his aviator's jacket to complete the look. And Percy hated it.

He may have been shitty to Nico in the past, but he was trying to make up for it now. And, honestly, seeing Nico gradually coming out of his shell over the past few months had been a blessing. Especially when he started to warm up more and more to Percy.

Now, it seemed like all of that effort had been for nothing. Maybe Nico was still talking to him, and he wasn't in his cabin all of the time, but he had still shut down somewhere. If Percy-or anyone- for that matter-asked him any personal questions, he stared blankly ahead and refused to answer. Jason wasn't getting through to him, and neither were Hazel and Reyna.

Nico seemed to have given up on something, but Percy couldn't tell what.

Not to mention Will Solace. Percy could've sworn that he and Nico had been joined at the hip, but the son of Apollo had disappeared-almost at the same time that Nico had changed. He was around at dinner and some cabin activities, but those were the only times that Percy saw him anymore. And, was it just him, or was Will _avoiding_ him? If Percy walked into the infirmary and Will was there, Will would turn around and act busy with something when he obviously wasn't. What was even up with the guy? What had Percy done? Oh, gods of eternal Olympus, he hoped that it wouldn't be a repeat of what had happened between him and Nico.

This had been happening for nearly a week or two, and it was now Friday. Friday the 13th, to be specific, the 13th of February, with none other than Valentine's Day the very next day. And Percy still had no idea what was up with Will and Nico.

And, for that matter, Annabeth and Jason.

Almost as soon as Nico and Will had changed their behaviors, so had Jason and Annabeth. Percy often caught them whispering to each other, even though they didn't tell him what they were whispering about. And when Percy asked Piper about it, she just shrugged and claimed not to know anything either. He doubted it, though. She was Jason's girlfriend-she could worm just about anything out of the guy.

Now Jason and Annabeth were nowhere to be found. This had also been happening recently, and honestly, it was annoying Percy. He wanted to spend Valentine's Day with Annabeth, especially at the dance, but if she was just going to disappear, then he was seeing no point in doing any of that.

It was time to find out what they were up to.

Percy knocked firmly against the door of the Aphrodite cabin. Most of the cabin should have been down at the Arts and Crafts area, but when Percy had checked a few campers weren't there. One of them was Piper.

The door swung open and, sure enough, Piper stood there. "We're not taking anyone-Oh! Hey, Percy!" She smiled and waved at him.

He waved back. "Hey, Piper. What do you mean, you're not taking anyone?"

"Oh, you know, Valentine's Day and all. Demigods come around all the time asking for help, so usually a few people sit out of each cabin activity to handle the ones that come in when we're all supposed to be, say, canoeing or something."

"Ah." Percy nodded. "And you're the only one?"

"Oh, no, Drew, Amelia, and Lexi are somewhere around. Lexi's reading on her bed. Drew and Amelia…I should really go and look for them, but I'm busy."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"You know. Stuff."

Percy stuck his head in the cabin to see a huge bed sheet hanging around what he presumed was Piper's bed. Across from it, a blonde Latino girl flipped to the next page of her book, completely ignoring Percy and Piper. "Uh-huh. You making a mini-infirmary in here?"

"Uh, no. Why do you think that?"

Percy pointed at the bed sheet, and Piper winced. "Ah. We were hoping that you wouldn't notice that," she muttered.

"Who?"

Piper sighed. "You know how Jason and Annabeth have been hanging out a lot?"

"Annabeth." Percy perked up. "She's here? Wise Girl? Wise Girl!" He moved past Piper to go up to the bed sheet.

"Hang on, Percy!" Piper grabbed Percy's arm, and he turned around to stare down at her. "They might not want you to just barge in."

"What do you mean?"

Piper sighed. "Yup, you definitely have no idea about what just happened."

"What? Did something happen to them?"

"Well, not exactly."

"I'm still going in."

She huffed. "Fine."

"Great!"

Percy poked his head behind the bed sheet that Piper had put up around her bed. "Uh, everything okay?"

Jason laid on his back, head on a pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Annabeth sat a foot or two away from him, massaging her temples as she blew out shaky breaths of air.

"Running a shipping club. It does this to you," Piper commented, stepping in front of Percy and moving past him to sit beside Jason. She picked up the blond boy's head and moved it into her lap. He didn't say a word.

"I've noticed."

"We fucked up," Jason finally said, pushing his glasses back up. "We done fucked up."

"We got so involved and caught up in everything…Ugh! I should've seen this coming!" Annabeth moaned.

Percy sat down beside his girlfriend. "Hey, it's okay, Wise Girl," he soothed. "I wouldn't have seen it coming either, but it's nothing to beat yourself up over."

Annabeth whirled around to face him. "You don't understand, Percy!" she snapped, her gray eyes wild with anger. Percy leaned back. "Because of me, Jason, and the rest of the camp, Nico and Will aren't speaking to each other!"

"Wait…what?" Percy's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "This is what you guys have been whispering about for the past two weeks?"

"What did you think we've been whispering about?" Annabeth's eyes widened. "Oh, gods, you didn't think that I was cheating, did you?"

"No, I didn't! I mean, I knew that Piper was in on it too, somehow, so I realized that you cheating on me with Jason would be ridiculous. I just didn't know if you guys were planning something or what."

Annabeth sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Because I never would."

Percy grinned and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I know, Wise Girl."

Piper coughed. "So, do we tell him what exactly you guys have been despairing over for the past few weeks?"

"Sure," Jason replied. "He deserves to know all of it."

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "I mean, how do you know that Will and Nico stopped talking to each other? Nico's barely talking to me, and I think Will's avoiding me, although I have no idea why."

"Yeah, we don't know, either." Jason sat up and pushed his glasses up his nose. "But I talked to Nico while he was in his cabin, and all I could get out of him was that he and Will had some sort of disagreement. And I guessed that it was a pretty major one, since Nico was barely talking to me, and was reluctant to get out of his cabin."

Annabeth cut in. "My sister Alexandria helps out in the infirmary sometimes. She came off shift complaining about Will, who was just being sullen all day instead of being a 'literal ball of sunshine' as usual. I stopped in later to grab a few cough drops since my throat was being sore to find out that she was right. This was during the first day that Nico holed himself up in his cabin."

Percy nodded. "Great detective skills."

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain. Then Jason came up to me and said that he couldn't get Nico out of his cabin, so we put two and two together and decided that, maybe, something happened between them."

"I asked Nico why he was down the next day, and that was how I found out that he and Will had their 'disagreement,'" Jason added. "Over what, we still don't know. But if it has anything to do with us…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Percy held up his hands. "So they have a fight, and you guys just think that it has something to do with you?"

Annabeth and Jason nodded.

"Why?"

Annabeth gave him her classic 'Are-you-fucking-kidding-me-Seaweed-Brain' look. "Tell me, Percy, what do Jason and I do that relates to Will and Nico?"

_Oh, yeah. The club._ Percy slapped his forehead. "Sorry, I've actually forgotten that that club exists."

Annabeth snorted. "Apology accepted."

"Okay, so Will and Nico had an argument, they're both pretty worked up about it to the point where they're not speaking, and we don't know why they fought or how to fix it." Percy sighed. "And you guys have no idea about what to do."

Piper raised her hand. "Correction: They don't. I'm just trying not to get involved in their shenanigans, because something is going to go wrong."

Jason glared up at Piper. "Pipes, why won't you help?" he whimpered. "We could use some children of Aphrodite on our side."

"Uh, no. I don't wanna get all up in their business." Piper shuddered. "I know how that feels like firsthand."

"Oh, yeah, your dad's Tristan McLean. You know, it's so easy to forget that sometimes," Annabeth pointed out.

Piper nodded. "Yeah, especially since I'm not with him all the time anymore. I have to remind myself sometimes," she laughed.

"Right. So you don't have to help us fix Will and Nico's relationship. Percy, do you want to help?" Jason asked.

Percy nodded, sure that he surprised even himself when he did. "Yeah. I don't really want to intrude on his business either, but I'd much rather see him happy instead of mopey like he is now. After all, he's been like that for-gods, how long? Two or three years, at least."

Annabeth winced. "A long time. So we should try to make him happy again. It's sort of our duty as his friends, I guess."

"Yup." Jason pushed his glasses up his nose again. "But where do we start? We can't fix it without knowing what made them fight in the first place."

Something thwacked against the bed sheet, and the four demigods jumped. Jason rolled away from Piper and leapt up into a fighting position. Annabeth whipped her head around and pulled her cap out from her pocket. Percy yanked Riptide out from his pocket and crouched. Piper punched the sheet in response.

A voice on the other side yelped. "Don't kill us!" Piper looked around at everyone and raised her eyebrows. The voice belonged to Drew.

"What?" Annabeth mouthed, looking confused. That was always rare to see on her face.

"I know!" Piper mouthed back, then turned back to the sheet. "Yes, Drew?"

"We kind of heard you talking, and we want to help."

"Uh, sure. 'We?'"

"Yes, it's me and Amelia. Can we come in?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The four demigods settled back down as the bed sheet swung open. Drew walked in, looking sort of pissed, and a guilty-looking freckled redhead that Percy guessed was Amelia followed her. Drew sat down neatly on the floor.

"Now, if you haven't met her yet, this is Amelia McIntyre." Amelia sat down beside Drew and waved nervously. "Now, we've been having a talk for the past two weeks, too, but it's not the same as the one that you guys have been having."

Percy scooted closer to them, and the scuffling noises nearby told him that Piper, Jason, and Annabeth were doing the same. "What about?" Jason asked.

"Tell them, Amelia," Drew ordered, crossing her arms and glaring at her haughtily.

Amelia blushed and looked away from her. "Well, at Halloween, I was talking with my friend Martha-Martha from Demeter, not Iris."

Jason nodded. "Go on."

"So we were just talking about the campers and stuff, right? Then I noticed that Will Solace was carving his pumpkin a few tables away. And Martha and I had been talking about the Solangelo club, plus I had heard something about…Nico having a crush on Percy."

Everyone stared at her. "Where did you hear that?" Percy finally asked.

"Let her finish, hon," Drew chided.

Amelia seemed to shrink in on herself. "And then I thought, 'Hey, if Will really does like Nico, then he'll get jealous if he hears anything about Nico having a crush on someone that's not him, right?' So I started talking about it with Martha really loudly, hoping that Will would hear us and react. He did freeze when we first started talking about it, but then he started to carve again, so we thought that he just didn't hear us and gave it up. And that's what happened." She waved her hands. "Ta-da."

"Okay," Annabeth finally said. "First off, don't talk about people like that. We need to talk about that later." Amelia turned a shade whiter, and Percy couldn't blame her. Annabeth was terrifying. "Second, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Their fight," Drew said. "Turns out that Will _did_ hear Amelia, but he also _misheard_ her and thought that Nico was currently crushing on Percy. I guess he got really worked up over it and confronted Nico about it, and they had a really loud fight and Nico stormed out."

"How do you know about this?" Piper asked, raising her eyebrows.

Drew and Amelia shared a look. "Well, um, Cupid and Favinous came to visit."

Jason took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cupid talked to Nico, didn't he," he groaned.

Drew looked surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"

"I was there the first time, and I'm not going beyond that. And Favinous talked to Will?" Drew nodded, and Jason groaned again. "By the thrones of the gods, no wonder Will lashed out. Favinous is something else entirely. He must've found some way to rile up Will."

"Sounds like he did," Percy said. "Are they both really that jerky?"

Jason looked panicked. "I don't feel like being blown to bits right now."

"Alright then." Percy straightened up. "What does this mean for us?"

"Well, we're definitely going to need help fixing this," Jason sighed. "Who's good at patching up relationships?"

The bed sheet billowed open, and the Latino girl that had been sitting on the other bed walked in. "I heard what you guys were talking about," she announced.

"Look, Lexi, I was trying-"

"Shut up," Lexi growled, and Amelia closed her mouth, looking huffy. "I told you not to meddle in stuff like this! At least you weren't abusing your powers, like you usually do. Gods of Olympus, have you _finally_ learned your lesson?"

Amelia glared, but nodded. "Yes, Lexi, I suppose I have."

"Good. Don't do it again." Lexi turned to face everyone else. "Honestly, I'm not even surprised that they fought. I've been sensing the tension coming off of them in waves every time I'm near one of them. What surprises me is that it took three months for them to snap."

Jason's brow knitted together in confusion. "Uh, how are you sensing them?"

"My powers. As an asexual and aromantic child of Aphrodite, I've been blessed with the ability to sense platonic feelings. Amelia has these too, but they're not as strong since she's just asexual. Doesn't stop her from screwing around with them, though."

"Shut up!" Amelia snapped. Lexi stuck out her tongue at her before she continued.

"Anyways, are you trying to repair Will and Nico's relationship? Because I've got a few ideas."

Annabeth perked up. "Wait, you do? How?"

"Well, you're going to have to get them to apologize. But they can't know that they're going to have to apologize to each other, otherwise they'll refuse to. Will is extremely stubborn, and I can tell that Nico can be, too."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Jason agreed. "But what, exactly? If we lead either of them to a private place to do it, they'll know that something is up."

"Mm-hmm. So you've got to corner them. Bring them somewhere they'll never expect. Force them to go. Unless if you want your plan to go to shit, that is."

"So, like, a public place?" Drew asked.

"For once, you have the right idea," Lexi agreed. Drew narrowed her eyes at her. "And I know just the place."

"What?" Percy blurted.

"Well, what is happening tomorrow?"

Piper's eyes widened. "Oh, no way, Lexi."

"Yes way."

"What?" Then Annabeth gasped. "Lexi, you're a genius! There's no way that they won't apologize there!"

Percy glanced between them, confused. "Uh, tomorrow's Valentine's Day," he pointed out.

Everyone else stared at him. "And what are we doing to celebrate?"

"Uh…" Then Percy got it. "Oh. _Oh._ Oh! That's where they're apologizing?"

Lexi smirked. "I know just the person to help."

***IT'S TRUE, IT'S TRUE-THAT I'LL LOVE YOU LIKE I ALWAYS DO***

It was the worst day ever.

Nico hated Valentine's Day. Even before his encounter with Cupid, he hated it. He had spent the previous Valentine's Day full of heartache, because Percy had disappeared and he couldn't find him anywhere. The previous two had also been nothing but heartache over Percy, and he had missed nearly three-quarters of a century's worth before that.

And now, this one would just be filled with more heartbreak.

Nico regretted every word that he had said in his fight with Will. After he had left, he had ran into his cabin and thrown himself onto his bed. He screamed into his pillows and yelled at himself-for what, he wasn't sure. There were too many things to choose from. Being a hopeless, heartsick fool was definitely one of the top reasons.

How could he have ever hoped that he was more than friends with Will, that they could somehow _be_ more? It was Percy all over again, and Nico couldn't believe that he had let his heart fall for love all over again. It was disgusting. _He_ was disgusting.

Nico just wanted to curl up in a ball and die, but then Jason appeared seemingly out of nowhere and immediately started to nag him about anything and everything. He somehow managed to worm out of Nico what had happened, even if he didn't say much about it afterwards. Jason then forced Nico out of his cabin at almost every opportunity, forcing him to eat and participate in some activities daily. Nico just went along with it, hoping that Jason would leave him alone if he did. Finally, he did, and Nico went back to going in his cabin to sulk. This went on for over a week, his peaceful loneliness punctuated by visits and an Iris-message from other friends. He told them to fuck off and leave him alone. He didn't desire any type of contact at all for the moment.

Now, the Fates seemed to have turned on him.

"Nico. I swear to every god-major _and_ minor-that I will ban you from Camp Jupiter if you do not move."

"Fuck off, Reyna," Nico mumbled into his pillow.

"Excuse me? No, I am being your friend, and I will not 'fuck off.' Instead, I will be making you fuck off-fuck off from your cabin, that is."

The Valentine's Day dance, the one for both dances, was being held at the Camp Half-Blood pavilion. Originally, it had been planned for the Camp Jupiter pavilion, but a mishap had happened with the Mercury campers and the air spirits, so they had to change the location. Which meant that Nico lost his only good excuse for not going.

"Reyna, I am not budging from this cabin."

"Nico, you are budging from this cabin."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Something wrapped itself around Nico's ankle and yanked him off of his bed. He yelped and looked up to see that Reyna had grabbed his ankle, and was currently dragging him towards his cabin door with ease. "Reyna! Let go of me!"

"No, because then you'd find a way to chain yourself to your bed. It's not healthy to hole yourself up in your room like this."

"I'm-I'm not even dressed for this!"

Without even slowing down, Reyna picked a gray sweater off of the floor and threw it at Nico. It smacked him in the face, and he yelped again. "Pull it over your shirt once we're outside. The others are wanting, and Hazel has been very eager for this."

Nico sighed. Hazel had been pestering him about this constantly, and he couldn't disappoint her. He'd just had to shove his feelings to the side. "Alright, alright. I'll go."

"Good. I suppose this won't fail after all."

"What?"

But Reyna didn't answer. Nico glared daggers at her back.

"Stop glowering at me, Nico," Reyna commanded. Nico swallowed nervously and did as she asked.

Meanwhile, a similar event was happening in the Apollo cabin.

"Will."

"No."

"Will."

"No."

"Will, so help me, I will kick your ass if you don't get out of your bed."

"Go ahead."

It was the worst day ever.

_What's _wrong_ with me? _Will asked himself every other second. He had just blown up at Nico for nearly no reason at all, only for Nico to start yelling back. And the fight didn't felt any easier when Nico left. Will had just sat and stared at the wall, crying a little, before returning to his cabin and burying his face in his pillow. He still went to the infirmary, since the work there helped to take his mind off of the fight, but it still stung like a dislocated arm being re-set. He just didn't know what to do, so he remained silent and didn't tell anyone about the fight.

Will supposed that, somehow, he had changed, because people kept on asking him what was wrong, what had happened. He just ignored them, or answered them with "I'm fine." If anyone tried to pester him further about it, he just ignored them, burying himself further and further in the infirmary work.

This had been going on for nearly two weeks, and honestly, Will was starting to get tired of holing himself up in the infirmary. But he didn't want to face Nico yet. Yes, Will wanted to talk to him. But no, Nico probably didn't want to talk to him. He probably hated Will now, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He was probably swooning over Percy still.

But the Fates seemed to have turned on him.

"_Idiota,_" Alex muttered next to him. Zhe were kneeling on the floor next to his bunk. He had turned away from zher, hoping that zhe would go away, but nope.

"I'm not going to this dance, it's just a waste of time," Will replied.

"Dude. Lou Ellen and Cecil will be there. You've barely seen them these past two weeks! Or anyone else besides me and the rest of your siblings, for that matter."

"Leave me alone."

"Everyone else is already there."

"Alex-"

"You don't want to let your siblings down, do you?"

"_Alex_-"

"Wiiiiiiiillllllllllllllll." A finger started poking his shoulder. "Wiiiiillllliiiiiiaaaaaammmmmmm."

"Shut up!" Will snapped, and rolled over to glare at Alex.

Alex laughed. "At last, he turns! Oh, what a joyous day this is-Hey, have you been crying?"

_Shit._ "Uh, no. Just some allergies." Will rolled back around to face the wall.

"Jesus Christ, Will. What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Right, right. You really need to get out if something's making you cry."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"I will curse you so you can't speak for all of next week."

"That's gonna drain you."

"For a good cause. You know that I don't back off on my threats."

Will sighed. There was no stopping Alex. "Alright, _fine_. I'll go."

"_Excellente_. Let's go!" Alex leapt back from the bed, and Will saw that his half-sibling actually had zher hair down and brushed, and was wearing a nice blouse instead of a camp shirt.

"Um, Alex, I don't really have anything nice-ish to wear."

"Just a button-down should do. Here, use one of Austin's! He won't mind." Alex threw a collared shirt with white and blue stripes on it.

Will caught it, nearly dropping it in the process. "Uh, won't he mind?"

"It's for a good cause," was Alex's answer. "Now, hurry up before I drag you there!"

"Fine. But don't look!"

Alex turned on zher heel. "I have a girlfriend, bro. Plus, you're my sibling, and that's just nasty."

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to have some privacy."

"True, true. Come on, Lexi will whip my ass if we're not there in time!"

Will froze. "Lexi? As in, Aphrodite Lexi?"

Alex's shoulders hunched up. "Uh, yeah. I was going to hang out with her for a while, before the party really kicked off."

"O-kay." Will decided to ignore that, and continued putting on the shirt.

"Are you decent?" Alex asked after a minute or two.

"Yeah, but this shirt is a bit big on me." He rolled up the sleeves.

"Fine. Can I turn around?"

"Sure."

Alex pivoted again, and gave Will an once-over. "Cool beans. _Vamos, ¡mi hermano!_" She grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the cabin. He followed, yelping and stumbling.

Nico was in nearly the same position, except it was Reyna and Hazel doing the dragging. They were dressed up for the dance. Reyna was out of her praetor uniform, and was wearing a burgundy dress with a rhinestone decal. Hazel's dress looked like something out of a Minnie Mouse cartoon, if Minnie Mouse wore a belt. This was jarring to Nico, since he wasn't used to seeing either of them in a dress.

"I still don't see why I just _have_ to go," he grumbled.

"Come on, Nico! It's gonna be so much fun!" Hazel bounced in her Mary Jane's. "Everyone is going to be there, and we're not letting you miss out!"

"Who even wants me there?"

"We do," Reyna said. "And so do the rest of your friends."

"Yeah, whatever. Why are you so dressed up?"

"Shut up," Reyna snapped, although her cheeks turned pink.

Hazel and Nico stared. "Oh, no way. Who is it?"

"Nobody!"

Hazel giggled. "You can tell us, Reyna. We can keep a secret."

Reyna pursed her lips. "Someone just asked if I would like to hang out at the dance with them. That is all."

"Who?"

"I'm not telling."

Hazel huffed. "Why?"

"You'll see."

"Is that why you're dragging me to this dance?" Nico demanded.

"No."

"Oh, so it's really because you want me to 'hang out' with you guys?"

Reyna and Hazel nodded.

"That's great."

The two girls stopped. "Nico, is something wrong?"

"Nothing."

They let go of his arms, and Nico nearly stumbled into the ground. "Hey!"

"No, what is it?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Nico…" Hazel took his hand. "Why can't you tell me?"

Nico swallowed down his pride. "Am I a good friend?"

"Yes, you are, Nico! Why would you think otherwise?" Hazel cried.

"I don't know, I've…I've just been thinking."

Reyna and Hazel shared a look, and once again Nico got the feeling that they weren't taking him to the dance because they wanted him to hang out with them. "Nico," Reyna began. "You are a very good friend, no matter what anyone else may say. You're our friend, and you know that we don't choose bad friends."

"Yeah, but-"

"We're late," Reyna cut him off, and started dragging him again. Hazel did the same, causing Nico to start at the sudden pressure. "We must hurry."

"When will you tell me why we're really going?"

"No."

Nico sighed.

"Will! Stop dragging your feet!" Alex snapped.

"But I don't want to go!"

Alex snapped something at him in Spanish. "You went into Spanish there."

"Yes, I did, and no, you probably don't want to know the translation."

"Hey, Will!"

Lou Ellen and Cecil jogged up to them. "Come on, you're gonna miss the fun! Oh, and Alex, Laura is in the group ahead of us."

"Sweet! _Hasta luego,_ you guys." Alex let go of Will's arm and blew them all kisses, before zhe ran up to a group of kids from Demeter a few yards ahead. Zhe wrapped her arms around one and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The girl shrieked before giggling, and turned around to give Alex a hug. Something panged painfully inside of Will, but he ignored it.

"We haven't seen you in a while! What's up?" Lou Ellen exclaimed. Her hair had been pinned up, and she was actually wearing a dress for once. Cecil looked uncomfortable in a black jacket and hair combed to the side.

"Not a lot. I actually want to go back to my cabin."

"No way, _hermano_," Cecil said, and grabbed his hand and started pulling as Lou Ellen did the same. "You are _so_ not missing out on this."

Will groaned. "When will you people start dragging me everywhere?"

"Never. Come on, Lexi wants to talk to you!"

"What? I thought Alex was going to hang out with her."

Cecil and Lou Ellen exchanged looks. "Uh, did zhe say that? I don't know what zhe are talking about!" Lou Ellen smiled nervously. "Come on!"

"You're lying."

"Don't question me right now," Lou Ellen said through gritted teeth. "We are trying to help Lexi with something."

Will groaned. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"You'll thank us!" Cecil promised. "If not, you can inject us with Greek Fire!"

"Cecil!"

"Thank you, Cecil, I've been hoping that I finally would be able to do that to someone."

Lou Ellen moaned. "I don't think Miranda will like me with Greek Fire in my veins."

"She likes you now, doesn't she?" Cecil joked. The smile fell off his face as Lou Ellen glared at him. "Oh, _mierda_. I was joking!"

"Just for now, you're off the hook."

"Watch out for that pole," Will pointed out.

"Ack!"

Will winced as Cecil banged his head against the pavilion pole. "I'm alive, but my head-ow!" He rubbed it gingerly.

Lou Ellen laughed. "The pole has given me revenge."

"How could you, pole? I thought we had something special!" Cecil gasped dramatically. "We were lovers. Now what are we?"

"Shut up, Cecil. You don't even feel romantic attraction," Will pointed out.

"True," Cecil mused. "But that doesn't change a thing!"

"Oh my gods." Lou Ellen rolled her eyes.

Will looked up from the injured Cecil to see that just about everyone from both camps had gathered in the pavilion. Music thumped, and some campers were already dancing. Will saw Paul from Aphrodite and a brunette that he guessed was his girlfriend dancing with Emily from Hermes and Alianna from Ares. Jake Mason laughed and filmed Mitchell from Aphrodite performing a terrible waltz with Malcolm from Athena. Travis spun Katie around, while Connor appeared to be teaching Lacy how to do the Macarena. Most just stood and talked with their friends. Refreshment tables were set up all around the edges of the pavilion.

"This place is a hot mess," he muttered.

"Duh! Now, Cecil, why don't you go and find Lexi?" Lou Ellen asked. "Bring Will with you. I promised Miranda the first dance. Oh, there she is!" Lou Ellen waved at them, before she jogged over to a girl in a white dress laughing with a boy in a tux. Will didn't recognize him, so he guessed that he was from Camp Jupiter. The pang struck him again as he watched the two girls greet each other, but once again he ignored it.

"Come on, where's Lexi? Follow me, Will," Cecil muttered.

"Why?"

"Trust me."

"But I don't trust you."

"By the gods, Will. Look, follow me, else Lexi will get pretty mad. She needs you to fix something."

"Like what?"

"Just…Just follow me and stop asking questions."

"Fiiiine."

Cecil stepped into the crowd, and Will followed him.

They pushed through the crowd of campers, muttering "Excuse me" and "sorry" every five seconds. Sometimes a friend or sibling would greet one of them, but they would turn away soon after. It was hard work to fight through all of them.

At one point, a loud shout of laughter caught Will's attention, and he turned to see Piper McLean and Jason Grace laughing with Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Calypso, and Rachel Dare. Jason stepped back to reveal Percy Jackson standing next to him, and Will found himself glaring at him. That damn Jackson…

Then a girl that Will recognized as Hazel Levesque stepped into their mini-circle and wrapped her arms around Frank. Will ignored the pang again, but it doubled when two more people joined their group.

Reyna Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was moved to stand next to Rachel, and leaned over to Jason to whisper something in his ear. Jason nodded and gave her a quick thumbs up, before he leaned to whisper in Piper's ear.

Then Nico appeared, and Will felt his heart pound. Nico…Nico was here? Did Reyna and Hazel bring him? What was he doing? He didn't like dances. Oh, gods, what if he saw Will? What if he hated Will now? Will had to turn away, and hoped that his stomach would stop doing flips. He continued to follow Cecil.

Nico started when he saw Will a few yards away. Will was here? Why? Oh, gods, what if he saw Nico? What would he do? He probably hated Nico by now. Nico looked down at his feet and swallowed nervously, wishing that he could just melt into the ground.

"Hey, Nico! What's up?" Rachel greeted, "Cool dance, isn't it? I asked for them to play some Marina and the Diamonds later. Not a party without Marina!"

"Yeah, that's cool," he managed.

"You alright? Thirsty or something? Don't worry, Chiron had the Hecate cabin enchant the punch so the Hermes cabin can't spike any of it. I heard Cecil complaining to Lou Ellen about it earlier." Rachel laughed.

"No, I'm fine."

"C'mon, bro!" Jason pulled Nico into a one-armed hug, and Nico yelped for what felt like the thousandth time that evening. "This is gonna be so fun!"

"For you guys, maybe."

"Not without you."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Hazel coughed, and Nico looked up to see her yank Frank down. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. Nico frowned. What were they whispering about? What was Frank planning with Hazel?

Frank stood back up. "Um, has anyone seen Lexi? She wanted to talk to, you know…"

"Oh! I saw her at the northern punch table!" Piper exclaimed. "Do we go get her, or do we-"

"Take him," Rachel cut her off.

"Who's going again?"

Annabeth and Jason raised their hands. "Right now?" Jason asked.

Reyna nodded. "Yes, I believe so. She did say 'as soon as possible.'"

"Cool. Hey, Nico, can you come with us for a second?"

Nico's guard went up immediately. "Why?"

"Lexi from Aphrodite wants to talk to you about something."

Nico groaned. "Tell her I'm not interested."

"Not like that, I think she's asexual anyways," Percy replied.

Nico looked around at all of his friends, confused. "What's going on?"

"You'll see. Follow me and Jason!" Annabeth promised, before she started to push through the crowd of demigods. Jason followed her, adjusting his glasses, and Nico sighed. At least he wasn't being dragged this time.

"Where are we going?!" he yelled, although he doubted that neither of the blondes could hear him.

"You might hate us for this at first!" Jason shouted. Or, Nico thought that he did. Over the pumping music and loud chatter, he could have shouted, "You bite maters for breakfast!"

"What?!"

"Never mind!" That he heard loud and clear. Nico resolved to never follow Annabeth and Jason anywhere ever again.

A few minutes later, Annabeth yelled, "There she is!" and stepped out of the crowd. Jason and Nico followed her.

A blonde Latino girl in a peach dress who Nico vaguely recognized was arguing with Drew Tanaka (unsurprisingly in pink) and a redhead in teal that Nico vaguely remembered as Amelia.

"You said yourself that this might not work!" Drew protested.

"Well, none of your ideas have worked so far," the blonde girl snapped. "But did that stop you from trying?"

"Come on, Lexi. You don't even have a back-up plan!" Amelia moaned.

"Actually, I do. If this fails, we're just going to do it again. We need to be straightforward here, because sugarcoating isn't going to work again. And besides, the goal is to fix the relationship, not push it to a romantic point."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"There's more to life than just romance."

"Of course you'd say that."

"Amelia. Shut up."

Amelia scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Are we interrupting?" Annabeth quipped.

The daughters of Aphrodite turned to face Annabeth, Jason, and Nico. "Oh, thank the gods," Drew breathed. "Part of it is working!"

"Part of what?" Nico asked.

"Nico, why don't you stay here with the girls?" Jason asked.

"I'm not interested!"

"Neither am I," Lexi said.

"You're not my type," Drew said.

Amelia looked disgusted.

"Right, right. So, he just…"

Lexi nodded. "We'll take it from here."

"Great! Okay, back to Piper and Percy, Annabeth."

"Wait, you're seriously-"

"Bye!" Annabeth and Jason waved as they disappeared into the crowd. Nico cursed in Italian. Gods, he hated them so much.

"Hola, I have brought the party!" a voice greeted from behind Nico. He turned around, and couldn't believe his eyes.

Will stood a few feet across from him, looking completely exasperated. Nico heard Cecil chattering in the background, but he ignored that in favor of staring in shock at Will.

Will looked away from Cecil and glanced at Nico. Then he jumped in surprise and stared at Nico, before swallowing nervously and turning away. Something twisted inside of Nico, and he forced himself to turn away and cross his arms.

"I'll be going, my friends call! Bye, Nico!" Cecil bounced away,

"Fuck off," Nico muttered. But Cecil was already gone.

"Well!" Drew clasped her hands together. "Now that we're all here, who wants to start?"

"Start what?" Nico asked, and Will fought down the butterflies that erupted inside of him at the sound of Nico's voice. Nico hated him, he wasn't supposed to still have a crush on him.

Drew sighed. "Oh, fine. Amelia?"

"Why me?"

"The boys are going to be stubborn, it seems. Plus, you can break the ice."

Amelia cursed in Greek, before taking a deep breath. "Fine. Nico, I'm sorry that I gossiped about you. I was just trying to help with something, but instead I make it worse."

Nico stared at her. "Wait, what?"

"Let me finish!" She turned to Will, who had turned back to glance at her. "Will, I'm sorry that you heard me say this thing, and believed something about Nico that wasn't true."

_Hold up, what? _"It's…I'm sorry, I'm lost," Will said.

"What did you say?" Nico demanded.

Amelia had the decency to look sheepish. "I, uh, heard a rumor about how you had a crush on Percy, and I told Martha about it."

Nico ran a hand over his face. "That was not supposed to be public information," he muttered.

Something panged inside of Will again. Nico _did_ like Percy.

"I'm sorry. A dryad heard your conversation with Jason about it, and she told me. And then I did something foolish with it." Amelia sniffled, and Will saw that her eyes were glistening. "I'm really sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. It's not a big deal anymore," Nico promised.

"Good."

Lexi cleared her throat. "Now, boys?"

"Do I start?" Will asked.

"Sure."

Will turned to Nico and took a shaky breath. "Nico, I'm sorry that I said those things to you. I was just making wild guesses, and I didn't mean half of what I said. You're a good person, and a great…friend." Nico's expression flickered, but Will ignored it. "I was an asshole."

"No, Will, you weren't. I bet you said all of those things for a reason, and it's my fault that I blew back up at you. You're-You're my friend too." Will's stomach twisted. "If anyone needs to apologize, it's me."

"What? No way!" Will stepped closer to Nico. "I started it all, anyways. I was just mad because you like Percy, and I didn't know, so I was mad that you were hiding things from me. You must have had a good reason to-"

"Hold up." Nico held out a hand. He was lost. "Me…_like_ Percy?"

Will blinked. "Uh, yeah."

"Will…" Nico laughed. "What makes you think I like Percy?"

Something rushed inside of Will-a wave of relief. "Wait, seriously? But I thought Amelia said-"

"Well, I used to have a crush on Percy. But I'm over it now. I-I like someone else now." Nico was sure that his face had turned bright red.

Will's stomach twisted again. "Oh. Do you want to tell me?"

Someone gasped to his side. "Oh, my gods. I can't believe it!" Drew exclaimed. Will ignored her.

Nico looked away, shuffling his feet. "Um, you might get mad."

"Why?" Then it hit Will. Nico said he could get mad, and he was acting all nervous. "Oh. _Oh._ Is it…" He pointed at himself.

Nico nodded slowly, and Will felt his face lit up. Nico liked him…he liked _him_! It wasn't Percy that Nico had a crush on, it was Will! He could barely believe it.

"Nico, can you look at me?"

Nico shook his head. There, he had told Will. Will must've hated him by now, if he hadn't before. There went another friendship down the drain. Skeletal butterflies started to thump around again in his stomach.

"Nico."

Footsteps padded over to him, and someone took his hands. Nico looked and gasped when he saw that Will's hands were holding his. He looked up to see Will smiling back down at him, not breaking eye contact this time.

"I like you too, you idiot."

Nico could feel the heat rushing back into his cheeks at Will's words. "You-You like me-Oh my gods."

"Well, yeah. Why did you think I was so jealous of Percy?"

The skeletal butterflies in Nico's stomach expanded into moths, and before he knew it he was standing on his tiptoes and mashing his lips into Will's. At first, the taller boy didn't do anything, and Nico worried that he may have been too forward. But then, he closed his eyes and started to kiss Nico back. Nico's own eyes fluttered shut as well.

All too soon, they broke apart, breathing heavily. "Wow," Will breathed. "That was…amazing."

Nico didn't trust himself to speak, and nodded instead.

A loud whooping rang around them, and they twisted to see the Seven, the Apollo cabin, and the rest of their friends running up to them. "You did it!" Alex and Jason shouted at the same time, before they gave each other confused looks. Samuel and Gordon high-fived, while Reyna swept Nico up into an unexpected hug.

"Wow, Lexi, this isn't what we expected to happen, huh?" Annabeth laughed, while Lexi's eye twitched,

"I…am very surprised by this turn of events," Lexi muttered. "I was just trying to fix their relationship, but…oh, fuck romance. At least the sexual tension is gone."

"Tell me about it."

Cecil and Lou Ellen grinned up at Will. "You finally got the balls, huh?" Lou Ellen smirked.

Will spluttered. "Excuse me, Lou-"

"Don't sweat it. It was pretty obvious." Cecil grinned. "You were lost the moment you saw him on Half-Blood Hill."

"I was not!"

"Reyna!" Nico squirmed. "Put me down!"

"Whoops." Reyna set Nico down gently, smiling. "I guess I got too caught up in the moment."

"That's what you call getting caught up? Can't wait to see what you're like caught up in the music," Rachel commented. "But congrats, Nico! Your first boyfriend. So, if he ever says anything about Trojans-"

"Rachel!" Jason and Annabeth yelled.

"What? I'm just trying to help!"

"Why would he talk about them? They weren't very smart," Nico commented.

"Not those-"

"Excuse me." Will elbowed his way through his cabin mates to take Nico's hand. "What were you saying?"

"Something about the Trojan War," Nico answered.

Will grimaced. "Oh, no."

Rachel laughed. "I'm just kidding."

"So, uh, Nico." Will took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Do you want to stay at the dance? You don't have to."

Nico looked around at the people nearby. Piper and Percy were fist-bumping, Leo and Calypso were handing out drinks to everyone, and Lexi was talking with Alice, Laura, and Alex. Lou Ellen and Miranda were dancing with Cecil to the music, while the Apollo cabin seemed to have dispersed. Hazel was giving Frank a kiss on the cheek, and Annabeth and Jason were talking with Drew and Amelia. Overall, it was a little bit out of his comfort zone.

But he was willing to leave that zone. He had friends now-good friends, ones that were always willing to show that they cared. Plus, Will was by his side, at last. And in that moment, Nico felt invincible.

"No. I think I'll stay. There's a night to party away with my friends, and now I have you to party it away with me."

Will's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then he grinned. "That wasn't what I was expecting to hear, but alright."

Nico glanced at the floor, smiling to himself.

"So, about another one of those kisses."

Nico looked back up. "Of course."

Will smiled at him. "That, I expected to hear."

Nico rolled his eyes, but didn't pull away when Will closed the distance between them.

It was the best Valentine's Day _ever_.

* * *

**Holy shit.**

**This is it. This is the final chapter. Now there's just the two-part epilogue left.**

**Can I just say how phenomenal this is to me? I haven't finished any of my fanfictions since the December of seventh grade, over two years ago, and that was on an entirely different site and an entirely different fandom. I wasn't even planning to expand this story, I had no set plot, and I wrote the first chapter for kicks because the post I created that I based Chapter 1 on got popular.**

**But you guys actually **_**wanted**_** more. You wanted me to continue writing this, and I decided to give it my best. I've always been self-conscious of my writing and art and myself in general, but seeing this get popular meant the world to me.**

**I actually have a sappier note for when I upload the second part of the epilogue, but I just wanted to say something for the official final chapter. It's been a wild four months of inside jokes, drama, humor, and fun, and I wanted to say thank you to all of you for it.**

**See y'all when I upload Chapter 27: Epilogue, Part 1!**

**Deranged Shadow Fangirl**


	27. Epilogue Part 1: The En-gay-gement

**_If you haven't read Chapter 26, please go back and read it! It is extremely important!_**

***Mushu voice* I LIVE!**

**Okay, maybe not.**

**Update on the past two months:**

**My dad sent my computer in to the repair place, where it was deemed unfixable after three weeks with no news. It's now back home, still wearing its shiny Princess Tiana sticker, and my family has no idea what to do with it.**

**My teachers also like to assign projects at the same time. Welp.**

**I also hit 2k followers on Tumblr (THANKS SO MUCH OMFG), and I joined some networks and made a lot of new friends. So if you see me yelling at Mansi (cherryandsisters) it's okay, chances are we're having a joke fight.**

**Also my inbox got drowned in doots and I closed it ten times. That was not fun.**

**And the trip to London was great! Although it was super cold like why.**

**But yeah, I'm partially back! I'm supposed to be doing homework, but whatever.**

**I would reply to Guest Reviews, but I just have way too many! (800 REVIEWS IM FUCKING SCREAMING OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH THANK YOOOOUUUUUUUUUU)**

**Anyways, this is the first part of the epilogue. The second part will be uploaded…later. Not later as in five hours, later as in when I have the fucking time.**

**This takes place approximately seven or eight years in the future, when everyone is at New Rome and in college. Boy, college sounds like fun.**

**This is also based off of an old prompt request from 2000000000 years ago that Kari sent in. Hey look I'm productive.**

**Disclaimer: *Steven Universe theme song starts***

**I'M**

**THE AUTHOR**

**FOR THIS FIC**

**I WRITE TO PLEASE MY FANS**

**AND IF YOU THINK I'M UNCLE RICK**

**YOU HAVE GOT THE WRONG MAN**

**BUT AT LEAST I DIDN'T MESS UP LEO VALDEZ**

**AND I**

**MENTION FRANK**

**AND HAZEL!**

**AND STEVEN!**

* * *

**E**pilogue: Part 1-The En-gay-gement

Snow fell gently to the ground on a cold December day. The entire city of New Rome was covered with the white fluff, landing silently on homes and buildings and the grounds. The morning was silent, an eerie silent, as though nothing at all could disturb it.

Except for one thing.

A white projectile slammed into the side of a tree, shaking it and causing the snow to fall off in a heap.

Percy yelped and jumped back from the tree. "No fair, Jason!" he yelled, shaking his fist at the statue of Kymopoleia nearby. Loud snickering could be heard from behind it. "You can control the winds!"

"Snow turns into water," Annabeth reminded him. "Technically, you should have the advantage."

"We need more people. This is war, Annabeth."

"Isn't it always with you and Jason?"

"No, it's not!"

Annabeth sighed, before leaning over and kissing her husband on the cheek. "You want me to get Frank and Hazel?"

"Already here!"

Percy and Annabeth turned to see Frank, Hazel, and Nico walking side by side. Hazel held hands with both of the young men. "Did you start another snowball fight with Jason and Piper?" Nico asked.

"Yes," Percy and Annabeth blurted at the same time, before giving each other incredulous looks.

Frank sighed. "You better not get Terminus upset this time. He has the worst punishments ever."

"That was Piper's fault!"

A snowball knocked Annabeth's hat off her head. She yelped and scrambled around in the snow for it. "PIPER!" she yelled.

"I did nothing! It was you!"

"No way!" Annabeth brushed the snow off her hat into her hand, forming a neat snowball. She ran up to the statue and ran around it. A loud WHUMP! and two squeals of protest followed.

"Oh, no," Percy whispered.

A few seconds later, Annabeth barreled around the statue, laughing, as Jason and Piper followed with snowballs in their hands. "You better run!" Piper yelled, charmspeak filling her voice. Everyone that was in the nearby vicinity turned and ran in opposite directions.

Nico found himself huddling with Hazel behind a tree. Something struck against it, the impact causing a shower of snow to fall in front of him. "What do we do?" he yelled at Hazel. "We can't make snowballs fast enough!"

"No," Hazel agreed, "but a few skeletons can!"

"Are you sure? They move slower in cold weather-"

More snowballs hit the tree, and more snow slid off of it. "Summon the skeletons!" Hazel yelped.

Nico winced and raised his arms out in front of him. Hazel dropped to the ground and started patting at the snow, building a makeshift fort. The ground began to tremble, and cracks opened in the snow. Five skeletons crawled out of them, straightening themselves out and staring at Nico.

Nico pointed to the ground. "Make snowballs."

They stared at him indignantly, before dropping to the ground and awkwardly patting at the snow. Nico facepalmed.

"Got a fort and some snowballs!" Hazel cheered, jumping back up. She handed one to Nico. "Jason and Piper should be on the other side. Throw as hard as you can!" Without warning, she leaned to the side and threw a snowball past the tree. "HEY!" someone yelled back.

"Not sorry!" Hazel ducked back as two snowballs flew past her. "They have reinforcements-start throwing!" The grin on her face looked suspiciously mischievous.

"Excuse me?" But Hazel shoved Nico and he stumbled out past the tree.

Nico saw what she meant. Jason and Piper were busy throwing snowballs at Annabeth and Percy. Next to them, Reyna was circling Frank. Both of the former praetors had snowballs in their hands and looked antsy. Rachel's hands expertly formed the snow into neat little balls, and helping her was…

"You traitor!" Nico yelled.

Will looked up, grinning. "Hi! I heard there was a fight."

Nico smiled. "And you chose Jason's side?"

"You were on his side last week!" Rachel laughed back.

"That was different, Will was with me last time!"

"Throw it, Nico!" Hazel yelled.

Nico rolled his eyes and threw it at Reyna. The impact of snow caused her to turn around with her eyebrows raised, which gave Frank the opportunity to unleash his collection of snowballs on her.

Nico leapt back into the safety of the tree, before Rachel and Will could start throwing their snowballs. "Equal numbers on both sides," he mused. "That seems like fun."

A skeleton clattered its teeth, and Nico looked down to see it pointing at a pyramid of snowballs that went up to his knee. He whistled. "That was pretty fast."

Hazel dusted off her hands. "I helped while you fraternized with the enemy."

"He's my boyfriend! If it was Frank, you would've done the same!"

Hazel opened her mouth to reply, but a loud whooping cut her off. Nico looked back around the tree to see a fox running across the snow, followed by Reyna. Piper and Jason were running away from Percy and Annabeth, who were giving them no mercy. Will and Rachel were nowhere to be seen.

Nico turned back to Hazel. "Percy and Annabeth are chasing Jason and Piper, and I think Reyna is running after Frank. I don't see Will or Rachel-"

"Surprise!"

A snowball sailed past Nico over Hazel's head, causing her to shriek and duck. Nico whirled around to see Rachel step out from behind the tree. Will stood behind her.

"You really didn't notice us?" Rachel asked, her eyebrows raised high. "Damn. We're sneakier than I thought."

"Run!" Nico grabbed Hazel and yanked her up, then started running. Hazel gasped before she realized what was going on, and fell into pace beside him. He let go of her arm.

"Thanks for the free snowballs!" Will yelled, but his voice was already growing faint.

After a few minutes of running, Nico and Hazel slowed down on the cobblestones of New Rome, panting. They leaned against the side of a bakery.

"How…did they get…there…without….without us noticing?" Nico wheezed.

Hazel swiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "You…were the one…looking," she groaned back.

Nico scowled, but didn't reply.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but soon he could hear footsteps smacking against the stone of the walkway. Whispers filled the air-"I could've sworn I saw them run that way-" "-I'm pretty sure they're downtown-" "No, that was Jason and Piper-" "I'll throw a snowball and see if anyone responds-" "Don't you dare throw that snowball-"

Hazel stiffened. "Who is that?"

"I'll look."

"Nico, if it's them-"

But Nico peered around the corner, just in time for something cold and wet to smack him in the eye and to the ground.

Someone cursed loudly. "GODDAMMIT!"

***You might want to read this part…***

"I can't believe Rachel would do that."

Nico groaned, readjusting the ice pack on his eye. "She didn't mean to, Will."

"You heard her! She specifically said she was going to throw the snowball. She did!" Will ranted, planting his hands on his hips.

Nico was sitting in a chair in the college infirmary, awkwardly swinging his legs. Will stood in front of him. After Rachel's snowball had smacked Nico in the face, Will had brought Nico straight to the infirmary, not allowing him to argue.

"It's not that bad. I probably won't even get a bruise." Nico started to lift the pack off of his eye, but Will pushed his hand back down.

"No. Way. You are keeping that damn thing on."

"How is a snowball going to give me a black eye?"

"How is my hand getting cold going to cause it to fall off?"

"That's different."

Will stuck his tongue out.

"You're such a child," Nico scoffed.

"Nyeh."

Nico stuck out his tongue. "Nyyeeehhhhh."

Will laughed, and Nico started to laugh with him. "At least I still have a sense of humor," Nico pointed out.

Will shook his head, chuckling. "Yeah, you could've been injured way worst," he admitted. He straightened up. "Rachel's out there, and Reyna's probably with her. I'll go tell them you're not injured badly."

Nico started to stand up, but Will pushed him back down. "No. Wait for me."

Nico huffed, but Will was already walking out the door. It slammed shut, and Nico was alone.

How dare Will make him stay behind. Nico was perfectly fine! Will didn't need to fuss so much over him. Come to think of it, Will had been fussier lately. Nico assumed it was the stress of classes, but that didn't seem right.

Whatever. Nico knew how to get revenge on Will. He always kept packs of his favorite bubble gum in his drawers, and he wouldn't let anyone else have them. Nico would just take some pieces.

The trouble is, he didn't know which drawer.

Nico scooted his chair until he was in front of the cabinet, and he opened the top drawer. It was full of spare medical supplies-stethoscopes, syringes, the works. He closed it.

The next one was full of bandaids and lollipops for the younger kids. A velvet black jewelry box was resting next to the boxes, but Nico closed the drawer before the last item fully registered.

After a few seconds, Nico yanked the second drawer open again.

What was a box like that doing in there? Will didn't need to give kids jewelry. Nico picked up the box and turned it over. The name DIANA JEWELS was stamped on the bottom of the box. Nico mouthed the words to himself.

It was the name of the popular jewelry shop in downtown New Rome. The shop had all kinds of jewelry-earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Specifically…

Nico's eyes widened. No way. He must have been dreaming. Will couldn't...neither of them...this had to be a joke. There was no way Will could ever give this to someone like Nico di Angelo.

Right?

Nico had no idea what to do. Should he put the box back and pretend he never saw it? Should he bring it up with Will? What if he opened it? What if it wasn't for Nico? What if it was something else entirely? What if...

No. The possibilities were endless, and Nico couldn't handle thinking about all of them right now. He didn't want to risk opening the box, but he knew that if he didn't it would nag at him.

Fuck it.

Nico carefully opened the box, and what he saw inside stole his breath away.

The ring was a small silver band, set with a diamond at the top. Small diamonds, three on each side, were also pressed into the band. The ring was not overly lavish, but it was not a plain ring either.

Nico couldn't breathe. He was definitely dreaming. He was going to wake up, find that he was fourteen years old again, and that the past eight years or so of his life were a lie. There was no way that this could be true.

The door creaked open, and Nico jumped. "Hey, is it alright with-What are you doing?"

Boots clunked against the floor, until Will was standing next to Nico. "You better not be stealing lollipops again..." Will's voice trailed off when he saw what Nico was holding in his hand. His eyes visibly widened, and he looked downright terrified.

Nico had no idea how to respond or even explain himself. "I was just looking for your special gum-" he stammered.

Will sighed. "Just say no."

Nico was confused. Say no to what? The ring was obviously a joke. "...What?"

"Say no. It's-It's sorta obvious that you want to." Will glanced away, looking absolutely dejected.

"I don't understand." Nico scooted to face Will. "Say no to what?"

Will mumbled something.

"I'm sorry?"

"The ring..."

_Oh my gods._ Nico wasn't sure what his face looked like at that moment, but he was pretty sure it was the perfect mixture of shock and embarrassment. "You're...You're serious about the ring?"

"No, I just had some random ring lying around in my cabinet," Will snapped. He looked close to tears, and the sight broke Nico's heart.

Will was being serious. He actually wanted to do this. And Nico's fooling around had ruined whatever plans Will had involving that ring. Now Will thought Nico wanted to say no. The whole situation was a mess.

If you asked many demigods what one upside to being a demigod was, they would say that it was being able to fix messed that they personally created. And Nico was one of those demigods.

"Look, Will." Nico stood up. He let go of the ice pack, letting it fall to the floor. "I obviously fucked up whatever plans you had with this ring. And, honestly, there's only one way to fix it: It happens now."

Will frowned up at him. "What do you mean?"

Nico closed the ring box and tossed it to him. Will yelped and fumbled with it. "Ignore your plans. Forget whatever speech you had in mind, whatever restaurant you were gonna do it in. Let's do this the simple way."

Will stared, until realization dawned on his face. "Ohhh. You mean-" He pointed at the ground. "You want me to-"

Nico ran his hands through his hair. "Yes, Solace!"

"Wow, way to get your skeletal underwear in a twist."

"Do the damn thing!"

"Calm down!" Will took a deep breath, before propping one knee up. He opened the box with shaky hands. "Nico di Angelo, will you...oh my gods, I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Nico's heart pounded. He was still waiting to find out that this was just a dream.

"Nico, will you marry me?"

The room was so silent that you could hear a syringe drop. Will was staring up at Nico nervously, his blue-gray eyes full of fear. Fear that Nico would say no, which wasn't going to happen.

It wasn't a dream. It was real.

"Yes."

Will blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes, Will!" Nico leaned down and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in his shoulder.

Will froze, before letting out a huge breath and returning Nico's hug. "Did you really just say-"

"Will, why wouldn't I marry you? You're my boyfriend, and you are-you're just perfect."

"You said yes!" Will stood up and swung Nico around, laughing. Nico squeaked at the sudden movement before laughing along with him. When they stopped, Nico lifted his head up to give Will a huge kiss, and he smiled as Will returned it.

The door creaked open behind them. "Eugh, guys, control your PDA," a girl gagged.

Nico and Will broke apart to find Reyna and Rachel standing in the doorway. "Oh, sorry," Nico apologized.

Rachel laughed. "Nah, I'm joking." Then she stopped. "Is that a ring box in your hand?"

Nico cringed, before looking up at Will. "Should we-"

"Do you want to?" Will asked.

"What's going on?" Reyna asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, I just kinda-"

"We're now engaged," Nico interrupted. Will gave him a look.

Both girls stared at them, before Reyna broke into a huge grin and ran up to Nico to crush him in a hug. "Nico, that's wonderful!" she laughed.

"Reyna...too tight..." Nico muttered.

"Sorry." She set him back down. "This is wonderful news! Have either of you made any future plans? When will it be? When will you tell the others? How-"

"Easy, Reyna, we haven't been engaged for even five minutes!" Will interrupted.

"Yeah, let them have their time. And congratulations to both of you." Rachel smiled, before her expression turned stony. "Oh. I just realized what this means."

"What? Is everything okay?" Will asked.

Rachel turned to Reyna. "We're the last couple in this friend group to be engaged or married."

Reyna's mouth dropped into a tiny 'o.' "Hold on there, Rachel-"

"The last ones! Wow, are we behind or what? We gotta step up our game, sweetie, or everyone else will have kids and we'll still be old maids!"

"Babe! People usually don't get engaged at this age-"

"Percy and Annabeth are freaking married already!" Rachel pointed out.

Reyna sighed. "Look, it'll come in due time-"

"So you _will_ propose?"

Reyna flushed red. "I-I never said that!"

"Hmph." Rachel crossed her arms. "I guess I do wear the pants in this relationship." She looked down at her skirt. "I better go find them."

"Rachel!"

"It'll come in due time," Rachel mocked, before flouncing out the door.

"Babe, I-Ooh!" Reyna stamped her foot against the ground. "Why did I agree to dating her?"

"Is everything alright?" Nico asked.

Reyna waved him off. "I'll go find her." She jogged out the door

"Don't tell anyone else we're engaged yet, and make sure Rachel doesn't either!" Will shouted after her.

Reyna nodded, before turning the corner and disappearing out of site. The room was silent.

"Is this what being engaged is like?" Will wondered.

"I thought it wouldn't be so dramatic," Nico muttered.

Will snickered. "Oh, wait, you should probably put the ring on, shouldn't you."

Nico had nearly forgotten about the ring. "Oh, yeah, um-"

"Here." Will gently took Nico's left hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger. "This is how you do it, right?"

Nico nodded. He didn't let go of Will's hand after that.

The room was silent again, but it was a comfortable silence. Will leaned down until his forehead was pressed against Nico's. Nico hummed and swing Will's hands around gently.

"I still can't believe you said yes," Will murmured after a few moments.

Nico smiled. "Honestly, I could never dream of saying no."

"Do you want to get Mexican food tonight?"

"That I can say no to."

Will laughed, and it sounded a thousand times happier. "You wanna kiss again? I feel like our last one got interrupted."

"Yes."

Nico closed his eyes and tilted his head up as Will pressed his lips against his. The moment seared itself into Nico's memory.

It was, by far, the happiest moment of his life.

* * *

**(Rachel/Reyna confirmed)**

**DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING**

**WHEN THE RING BOX IS REVEALED**

**CHEERS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE**

**THAT IS NICO AND WILL**

**I had too much fun with this omg**

**Okay so I have one last fanfiction promo**

**"Wait For Tomorrow" is written by my longtime friend KhaalidaNyx, and so far it's probably one of my favorite fics ever. It features my OC's Shazer and Alianna, and it is incredibly well-written.**

**But warnings for blood, gore, character death, trickery, and that one person who got run over with a car three times (I'm not joking).**

**Damn…Next update is the last update…I can't believe it…**

**Well, I'll see you then!**

**-DSF**


	28. Chapter 28: Update?

**Well, it's been actual months since you guys have heard from me, so I feel like I owe you guys an author's note.**

**I'm so sorry for no update! I didn't get a computer until a few weeks ago, and it was hard for me to focus on this story until now. I'm trying to finish up a lot of other stuff right now.**

**I promise to write the second part of the epilogue as soon as possible. It's going to be hard for me, though. I recently started my sophmore year of high school, and it's kicking my ass.**

**I'll try to write it, but it may take a while. Knowing me, I'll probably update it on the one-year anniversary of this fanfiction. Damn...this has been around for an entire year. My baby cousin is younger than this story.**

**To be honest, I've been having second thoughts about giving this a second epilogue part. The first part was pretty good, since I've only written one engagement scene before, and I've never really written a wedding. But a lot of people seem to want it, and I'm willing to try. Plus, I've missed writing for this story.**

**Uh...what else do I say? An update on my life besides high school being hell?**

**I had an interesting summer. I got food poisoning from improperly stored cookie dough, and so did my friends' entire family.**

**I also went to Washington DC. I had fun there, but I was pretty sore from walking around.**

**I finally watched Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra. I already have fanfiction ideas, but I'm gonna plan them out more. I also watched Gravity Falls and Star VS the Forces of Evil. And Steven Universe. Was I watching Steven Universe when I was writing this?**

**A few days ago I started taking some anxiety medication, but I ended up getting an upset stomach yesterday and today due to it. It should disappear soon, though.**

**And dapper-deoxy's webcomic Pilot is so great! They won't be able to update for a while due to their computer crashing and their mom forcing them to study for exams, but you can find out a lot more about it by checking them out on Tumblr. I'm really gay for Droplet personally. You're a great friend, Deo!**

**Oh, I hit 4200 (blaze it) followers on Tumblr too, and I'm nearly at 4300! Thank you everyone!**

**EDIt: Fuck I forgot to mention that the Tumblr update sucks and also Bernie Sanders for president 2k16 y'all**

**I don't really have much else to add, except Miley, what's good?**

**Thank you all for 450+ favorites, 530+ follows, 102,000+ views, and nearly 900 reviews! You guys are just too great! I'll write the second part asap!**

**If you guys want something to read though, I've uploaded quite a few stories that I've been working on for the past few months. There's "Rewritten," which is a Solangelo story in a slight AU that's long as fuck. There's also some Homestuck ones. "Snowball Fights" is a winter KatNep story. "Twist of Fate" is a DaveKat drabble I wrote after the update. "Misheard it Through the Grapevine" is a humanstuck SolFef and EquAra story. "All is Fair in Paint and War" is humanstuck TerAdia. There's also one Ninjago story, "I'll See You in My Dreams." It's mostly implied GreenFlame.**

**I'm finishing up other late birthday presents for my friends, and then I'm gonna reply to all of the writing requests in my Tumblr inbox and upload them here. Keep an eye out for them! There's gonna be Homestuck, Percy Jackson, and Steven Universe coming for sure.**

**If you want other stories, I once again recommend "Wait for Tomorrow" by my friend KhaalidaNyx. My OCs Alianna and Shazer are in it! Trigger warning for blood, gore, murder, attempted assault, and other creepy stuff.**

**I...sadly don't have any other stories to recommend. I haven't been reading actual fanfiction for ages dear lord. I had a reputation to uphold and I blew it on Tumblr.**

**Unless anyone is into crack, and I mean _crack_. I can recommend a Cars 2 yaoi and two stories involving a tiger dating a dinosaur. Plus a oneshot I put on Tumblr where they're all on a double date.**

**I guess I'll actually end this here, then.**

**Once again, I am so so so sorry for the lack of updates, and I plan to finish this soon!**

**I'll see you all soon again, I miss you!**

**-Taylor**

**P.S. No, my keyboard isn't broken. Alex is nonbinary and uses zhe/zher for pronouns.**


	29. Epilogue Part 2: Big Fat Greek Wedding

**It's the one-year anniversary of this story! Awesome!**

**I promised you guys a final chapter, didn't I?**

**Wow, I actually haven't finished a fanfiction since 2012, this is such an achievement for me.**

**To think that last year, I was nothing but a high school freshman, tentatively typing up an idea I had shared on Tumblr that involved the last book in my favorite series while I awaited my fifteenth birthday…Now I'm a high school sophomore, finishing up my most popular fanfiction while the clock ticks closer to my sixteenth birthday in five days, I'm close to hitting my next thousand on Tumblr, and I have just finished reading the first book of the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series (I won't put any spoilers, don't worry).**

**I'll save the sappy thank you note for the ending author's notes**

**Also, some of you might recognize the name of one of Nico and Will's kids. I'm not saying the name, but you'll all realize that I am a huge weeaboo.**

**Italian translations in the bottom author's note**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, the Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, or the Trials of Apollo series coming out in May. I also do not own "I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie.**

* * *

**E**pilogue: Part 2-My Big Fat Greek Demigod Wedding

To say that Nico was nervous would be the understatement of the year.

He didn't think that he stopped shaking since Will proposed to him, over two years ago. Hell, maybe not even since he first _kissed_ Will. If he actually hadn't, he wouldn't be surprised.

He tried to tie the bowtie that was hanging around his neck, but his fingers slipped and he ended up pulling it off his neck for the fifth time. "Dammit!"

"Nico?" The door opened, and Nico whirled around. It couldn't be time yet! He wasn't ready!

"I'm not done!"

"What on Earth do you…?" Hazel stopped at the look on Nico's face, before sighing. "You still have a few minutes before it starts, you know." She walked over to him, her cream dress swishing at her knees.

"Shouldn't you be with Frank and Aliyah?" Nico asked.

"Don't worry, Frank's got her. They need some father-daughter bonding time anyways. Are you having trouble with your tie?"

"You could say that."

"Here." Hazel gently yanked the strip of cloth out of Nico's hands. She slipped her hands over his head and under his collar, and before Nico knew it she had tied a perfect bow. It surprised him how fast she had made it, especially since he was nearly a foot taller than her. "There you go."

"Thank you."

Hazel smiled and dusted off Nico's shirt. "Need help with anything else? Got your vows?"

"Um, no. I think I have everything else under control, but thank you."

"Are you nervous?"

"What kind of question is that?" Nico caught his reflection in the changing room's mirror. His hair was combed neatly over his forehead, accentuated by his lightly tanned skin. He wore a neat black tux with a blue rose tucked into the left breast pocket, with a white dress shirt underneath. "This is the most important day of my life. So many things can go wrong!"

Hazel tugged Nico's hand, bringing his attention back to her. "You'll be fine! I was nervous when I was getting married to Frank, and Percy nearly lost it when he married Annabeth. But did anything go wrong?"

He sighed. "No. Even though you were so sure of it."

"See? You'll do great. And Will's probably just as nervous as you are."

* * *

"Oh my gods! What if the chapel burns down?!"

Cecil thunked his head against the table. "If you don't calm down in five seconds, I swear-"

Will paced the changing room's floor, wringing his hands nervously. "But it could!"

"Will, I charmed the entire place earlier. Nothing's gonna happen to it," Lou Ellen promised, massaging her temples.

"But there's so many demigods here, so many-Oh no!" Will clasped his hands to his cheeks. "A monster could come!"

"Alright, I'm done. Can someone else calm this guy down?" Cecil got up from his chair and left the room, slamming the door shut.

"Don't throw me under the bus!"

The door opened again, and Miranda and Piper stuck their heads in. "What's up?"

"Oh, 'Anda, I'm so glad you're here." Lou Ellen ran up to her fiancé and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Lover boy won't calm down."

"Hi." Will waved nervously.

"You better not wear out your blue tux. Mother thinks you looks very handsome in it-almost _too_ handsome for my liking." Piper closed the door behind her. "Can I help?"

Will sat down in a chair, running his fingers through the ends of his hair. "So many things could go wrong today. Being a demigod, you'd think I'd be used to it, but it's still scary."

"Well, let's try to placate your fears. What are they?"

"A monster could attack."

"This isn't a large gathering of demigods, only close friends and family. And nearly all of us have weapons. Plus, the Hecate cabin placed charms around this place, so monsters won't be touching it for another week."

"What about a fire?"

"The charms take care of that too." Lou Ellen snuggled herself into Miranda's lap. "I didn't trust Valdez's promise to 'keep the hotness under control.'"

"Someone gets sick!"

"A lot of your siblings are here, Will. Whoever it is will be fine."

"Someone gives birth?"

"Annabeth isn't due for four more months."

"Oh." Will scratched his head. "Someone important can't make it?"

"Everyone's here, even Annabeth's cousin…Magnus, right? We're just waiting on your sisters Kayla and Alice to get out of the bathroom."

"I lose my sheet with my vows."

"Isn't it memorized?" Miranda asked.

Will nodded, then he took a shaky breath. "Nico doesn't say 'I do.'"

Piper and Lou Ellen shared a look. Lou Ellen nodded, and Piper sighed and walked over to Will. "He will, Will. He really loves you. And nothing is going to change that." She allowed the slightest hint of charmspeak to wash over Will, only to calm him down.

He closed his eyes, then opened them, nodding. "Right. Of course he will say it."

"See? Everything is fine. Now, have either of you seen Jason? He still needs to put on his tie."

"Seriously? Didn't he do this when Percy got married too?"

"Yup. If any of you see him, tell them that I'm gonna fight him." She swished around in her dress and left.

"I don't pity him," Miranda admitted. "Piper is scary when she's angry."

The door opened again. "We're starting in a few minutes!" Jason announced.

"Piper's looking for you," all three of them said. Jason paled and closed the door again.

"I hope that everything really does go well," Will muttered, playing with his fingers.

"Hey, of course it will. You'll do great!" Lou Ellen gave him a thumbs up.

Will grinned. "You're right. Let's get this wedding started!"

* * *

"It's time," Kayla whispered to the rest of the procession, as she pushed the chapel doors open while the music swelled.

Nico gulped nervously. He knew that Will was somewhere behind him, getting ready to walk up the aisle soon after him. He went back through the order in his head.

Since Will's mother was dead, Kayla had taken her place at the start of the wedding procession. After that, the groomsmen would go through, Cecil following them. Then Nico went in, with Jason behind him as the officiant. Next, the bridesmaids came in, and Reyna would bring up the rear as the Maid of Honor. Then Frank would walk with Aliyah, who was the flower girl, and Alex and Laura's son Ian, who was the ring boy. Finally, Will would walk down the aisle, with his brother Austin "giving" him away.

Nico could do this. He could totally do this. It wasn't going to be that long, anyways. Just as long as he remembered his vows.

In front of him, Percy and Leo turned around and shot him a thumbs up. Will's brother Samuel winked, and Cecil smiled. Nico nervously smiled back.

"Good luck!" Percy mouthed as he walked out the doors. Nico didn't reply.

"You'll do great. Will was just as nervous as you probably were," Cecil said.

Nico sighed. "Yeah, but I'm still scared."

"Of course you are. Big day, huh? Good thing you're feeling some emotion. Otherwise, we'd be worried." Cecil chuckled as he walked out the door.

Nico took a deep breath. It was showtime.

* * *

Will shook as the doors opened again and again, leading up to him. In front of him, Frank picked up Aliyah, who was trying to eat the flowers in her basket. Austin had left to go do something a few minutes before, and his prolonged absence made the knot in Will's stomach twist even further.

"He's going to come back, he has to come back," he whispered over and over, playing with his fingers again. "He's coming back, he's-"

"Oh, pardon me. You're one of the grooms, right?" A tall man in casual clothes walked up to Will, sunglasses covering his eyes. He had golden blonde hair and Mediterranean skin.

Will nodded. "Yes, and you are?"

"What, you don't recognize your old man?" The man raised his sunglasses, revealing bright blue eyes with an ethereal glow.

"D-Dad?" He was sure that he was going to faint right there and then.

"Surprise! Your siblings and I wanted to do this as one last present for you before you officially become a married man."

"But-but Austin-"

"He's sitting in the pews, waiting for you to come in."

Will closed his eyes, taking yet another deep breath. "Dad…"

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't you wear something nicer if you're walking your son down the aisle?"

Apollo looked down at his clothes. "Oh, whoops." He snapped his fingers, and they changed into a three-piece suit. "Better?"

"Very." The organ began to play a familiar tune, and Will's heart clutched with panic. Frank and his daughter were already gone-it was his turn. "I have to go!"

"Chill, I got this." Apollo hooked his arm in Will's, and pushed the doors to the church open. Everyone's eyes turned to Will, and many of them gasped when they saw who was walking him down the aisle. A few of the audience members even bowed in respect.

Will tried to ignore the eyes on him, and instead focused on the altar in front of him. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were already up there, along with Jason and Nico. They were all looking at Apollo, except for Nico. His eyes were focused on Will, and Will alone. Will waved jokingly, and Nico smiled and waved back. He was as dashing as ever, especially in his tux of black and white, and it took all of Will's focus to not trip over on his feet.

It felt like years had passed until Will was stepping up next to Nico. Apollo let go of his arm. "Take good care of my son, child of Hades."

Nico nodded. "Of course."

Apollo smirked, and sat down in the front row next to Hades, who had arrived earlier.

Jason cleared his throat, distracting everyone from Apollo's disappearance. "I know that gods are great and all, but I'd like to get one of my best friends married, if you guys don't mind."

The audience laughed, and Jason smiled before turning to Will and Nico. He opened up his book. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, and in the face of this company, to join together these two men in holy Matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of Hera, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt the gods themselves: which sacred estate she adorned and beautified with her presence and sacred marriage with her husband, Zeus, the king of the gods: and therefore is not by any to be entered into…"

He squinted at the page, adjusting his glasses. "Unadvisedly. That's-okay, I read that right." Will bit his tongue to keep from laughing as Jason continued. "And therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of the gods. Into this sacred estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any person can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let them now speak, or else hereafter forever hold their peace."

Will held his breath, but nobody said anything. Jason nodded and continued speaking.

"I require and charge you both, as you will answer at the dreadful day of judgment when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why you may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, you must now confess it. For be well-assured, that if any persons are joined together other than as the gods' Word allows, their marriage is not lawful."

Will shook his head. "I can't come up with anything," Nico said.

"Good." Jason turned to Nico. "Nico, will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together after your ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live?

Nico nodded. "I do." A wave of relief rushed through Will.

Jason smiled and turned to Will. "Will, will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together after your ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live? "

"Yes!" Jason raised an eyebrow. Will cringed at his mistake "Oh. Um, I do." Nico chuckled.

"Who gives this man to be married to this other man?" Apollo raised his hand and walked up to the altar, standing by Will. Will turned to face Nico, who looked just as nervous as he did. Jason gently guided Nico's right hand to Will's right hand. "Now, proclaim your vows."

Nico pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket, and Will absentmindedly patted his pocket to make sure that his own paper was still there. "Will Solace," Nico began, the paper shaking in his hand. "I first ran into you when you gave me bandages at the Battle of Manhattan. When we met again, I wanted to punch you when you banned me from shadow-traveling during the battle against Gaea."

Despite his nerves, Will gave Nico the most exasperated look he could manage. "Maybe I should have let you fade instead."

The people in the pews chuckled, and Nico cracked a small smile. "At the time, I couldn't believe that someone would be so stern with me. I was used to getting the cold shoulder from campers who judged me for being the son of Hades." The room darkened momentarily, and Hades coughed before it returned to normal. Nico ignored his father. "So when you acted so unafraid of me, I didn't know how to react. My first instinct was to run away-but I was sick of doing that, and you wouldn't let me. Then I tried scaring you off, especially as we grew closer, but I finally realized you were here to stay."

As he spoke, Nico's hand shook less and less. "I was still scared of letting you close, especially after we fought. I thought…I thought I had made a terrible mistake." Will squeezed his hand reassuringly. "But I realized I was wrong. I had made a mistake, but it wasn't terrible. And you proved it when you let me kiss you. Since then, I've decided not to run away. I'm here to stay with you, whether you like it or not, Solace. This time, you'll be trying to get rid of me."

Will swallowed a lump in his throat. His eyes threatened to spill over as he let go of Nico's hand. Jason blinked rapidly, his eyes probably misty as well. "Alright, Will. Take Nico's right hand."

"I just let go of it?"

"Hey, I didn't write the wedding procedure."

Will rolled his eyes and took Nico's right hand again. He looked up at him, and his brain forgot what it was doing.

"Your vow," Apollo whispered into his ear.

"Oh, right." The words flowed back into his brain. "Nico di Angelo, I had no idea that the boy I met who needed bandages at Olympus would be the man standing in front of me at an altar to become my husband. When we first started to become friends, you exasperated me. You tried to shake me off, and you wouldn't listen when I tried to care for you. But, over time, you softened. We started getting closer, and I started falling for you."

Someone sniffed in the audience, momentarily throwing Will off. "I-I didn't think you would stay. You had ran before, I knew. I didn't want you to. I wanted you to stay. And somehow, I convinced you to stay. I still don't know how I did it. But I'm going to make sure that you stay, until we're wrinkled and old. And I'm going to make sure that you don't regret it, because I know that I won't."

Nico wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and mouth 'Thank you' to Will. Will smiled, a tear already falling down his cheek. They let go yet again.

Ian held up the pillow with the rings on it to Jason, who picked up the golden one with the fire opal in it. He handed it to Nico, who took Will's left hand and placed it on his ring finger. "With this ring I thee wed: In the name of the gods."

Then Jason picked up the other ring on the pillow, a beautiful golden ring with an Emerald in the middle, and two smaller ones on either side. Will took it from him with shaking hands, and slid it onto the ring finger of Nico's outstretched hand. "With this ring I thee wed: In the name of the gods."

They turned to face Jason, who took their right hands and moved them together. "Those who Hera hath joined together, let no man put asunder." He looked past them out to the church, where their friends and family sat. "Forasmuch as Nico and Will have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before the gods and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a Ring, and by joining hands; I pronounce that they are Man and Husband, In the Name of the gods."

Will and Nico kneeled down, and Jason smiled down at them. "May the gods bless, preserve, and keep you; the gods mercifully with their favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that ye may so live together in this life, that in the world to come ye may have life everlasting."

"Finally," Will whispered, as they stood back up. The ceremony was nearly over. Jason just had to say one thing:

"You may now kiss the groom."

As he slammed his book shut, Nico grabbed Will and pulled him into a deep kiss. Will wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him just as fiercely back. The room burst into cheers and catcalls, but Will didn't care.

He was finally married to the love of his life.

* * *

"May I have your attention please? Everyone?"

Most of the guests ignored Cecil's voice on the microphone, continuing to talk and clatter their silverware against their plates. Reyna stood up and tapped her knife against a wine glass, and the chatter settled down.

"Where does she _keep_ that?" Will hissed to his new husband.

"I try to avoid thinking about it," Nico whispered back.

"Good afternoon, ladies, gentleman, nonbinary, whatever gender you use!" Cecil greeted. "Did you guys enjoy the wedding? Particularly my part in it?"

Lou Ellen facepalmed at her spot at the table.

"Who am I kidding? It wasn't my wedding. It was the wedding of Nico di Angelo and one of my best friends, Will Solace. Give them a hand!"

The people in the tables started to applaud, and Will ducked his head down. Gods, Cecil really knew how to direct people's attention.

Cecil waved his hand, cutting the applause short. "Me and Will go way back, you know. I started camp when I was around six or seven, and Will had gotten there before I had. Camp life as a little kid was pretty fun. You didn't have to do the really hard chores, and everything was on easy mode. But saying we didn't get into trouble would be a lie. We discovered a horror movie one of my sisters had under her bed in second grade and scared ourselves halfway to Ha-" He glanced at Hades, who was sitting next to Hazel. "Uh, death."

"Nice save," Reyna whispered.

"And then Lou Ellen Gardiner came to camp when we were twelve. We got into a lot less trouble, but only because her magic helped us get away. Thanks, Lou!"

"Don't mention it."

"To sum it up, I've known Will for a pretty long time. So I can verify that that he and Nico are perfect for each other." Cecil took a deep breath. "I know that them being a couple seems pretty unlikely. They're children of gods that are nearly the exact opposite of each other-no offense meant, of course. So how would they even work out?" He started to walk behind the table. "They balance each other out, which is an advantage to being opposites. Will brings out Nico's friendlier side, and Nico makes sure Will doesn't go overboard. They bicker a lot of the time, but it's more bark than bite. They're great for each other. And I know that Nico is going to make Will the happiest man on earth for the rest of his life. So, congratulations, both of you!" Cecil held up his cup to them, and the guests burst into applause.

Will crushed a tear away from his eye. "Thank you," he mouthed to Cecil, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up. He felt Nico slip his hand into his, and his lips press onto his cheek.

Soon, many of the guests had finished eating and were milling about. Aliyah was trying to climb onto the platform where the instruments and DJ turntables stood, and Hazel was pulling her off.

"Hey, can you move your daughter please?" Gordon asked as he and some of his other siblings stepped up on the platform. "We need to start the music. Can you let your brother know?"

"Alright. Come on, Aliyah."

"Mama! Big horn!" Aliyah fussed. "Play!" Her face started to scrunch up.

"Not now, sweetheart. We're going to see Uncle Nico," Hazel soothed, preventing her daughter's tears. Instantly, her face lit up, and she clapped her pudgy toddler hands in delight.

"Hey, Hazel. Hello, Aliyah!" Nico greeted, walking up to his sister and kissing his niece's head. Will followed him.

"Nico, the Apollo children are getting ready to play music. Are both of you ready to dance?"

"Already?" Will asked. His nerves started to bunch up again.

"Yes. You guys should get on the dance floor now."

He breathed shakily. "Let's go." He took Nico's hand and they walked onto the wooden dance floor. The guests standing around the floor cheered as they walked out.

"Are you ready?" Will whispered.

"No." But Nico took Will's hand and placed his right hand on his shoulder anyways. Will put his left hand on Nico's hip as the song began to play, and Will's younger sister Laurel began to sing.

"_Love of mine, someday you will die. But I'll be close behind-I'll follow you into the dark._"

The newlyweds stepped carefully around the platform, aware of every movement the other one made.

"_No blinding light, or tunnels to gates of white; just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark._"

But they soon lost themselves in the music and each other, and their dancing relaxed as they spun around.

"_If Heaven and Hell decide that they both ae satisfied, and illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs; if no one's there beside you, when your soul embarks…_"

"_Then I'll follow you into the dark,_" Nico and Will whispered at the same time.

* * *

"And that's what happened at our wedding," Nico finished.

Rosabella blinked at the picture in the album. It was taken after the wedding, with Will, Nico, and all of their friends. The picture next to it was of Will with his father and siblings and other relations, and the one below it was Nico with Hades, Frank, Hazel, and Aliyah. "Wow, it must have been a pretty fun wedding!"

"It was. And I've been to lots of weddings."

"But what about the rest of the reception, Papa? The big party!" She bounced on the couch, her navy blue eyes sparkling. "You have to tell me all about it!"

Nico winced, remembering exactly how drunk most of his friends had gotten after the dancing started. "Um, maybe when you're older."

"You always say that!" Rosabella grumbled. "I'm old enough already!"

"_Gattina_, you're only 8. You still have a lot to learn."

"Alright. But you have to pinky promise to tell me when I'm older!" She held out her pinky, and Nico wrapped his pinky around hers.

"I pinky promise to tell you when you're old enough. Now it's time for bed."

Rosabella yawned, her sandy hair falling down around her face. Just like her other father, she lost energy as the sun fell down, so she didn't argue about going to bed. If only her two younger siblings were like that.

"Nico?" Heavy footsteps thudded on the stairs. "Paul and Winry are in bed already. Are you done getting Rosabella ready?"

"Yup. I just finished her story."

"Daddy!" Rosabella leapt off the top of the couch and tackled Will, who went down with a grunt. Nico laughed.

"Whoa, Princess. Be careful about jumping off the couch onto other people," Will reprimanded.

"But I can't shadow-travel yet. How else do I get to you?" Rosabella rolled off as he sat up.

"We don't know if you can. You're still too young."

"Why am I always too young? Papa says I'm too young to hear about the rest of the reception!"

Will raised an eyebrow at Nico, who shrugged. "Go to bed, Rosa."

"Tuck me in, Papa?"

"Sure." Nico got up off the couch and took Rosabella's hand as she scampered up the stairs. She hummed sleepily as he tucked her into her bed. "Good night, _mi gattina_."

"_Bacio_, Papa? Please?" Nico kissed Rosabella on the cheek, and gave her a quick tickle. "Papa!" She squealed.

"Sorry about that. Sleep tight." Nico opened the door.

"You too, Papa." Nico smiled and shut the door behind him. He walked down the stairs to find Will looking through the photo album he had just shown to Rosabella.

"So I take it she liked the story of our wedding?"

"Yup. I didn't go into all the details, though. I don't want to explain why Cecil was singing 'Shots' just yet."

"Dear gods, I thought I had that memory buried."

Nico smirked as he flopped down on the couch. "She loved it. Best story she ever heard."

"I hope so. I'd feel like a boring dad if I didn't have any interesting stories."

Nico snuggled up close to his husband of ten years. "Funny thing to here out of the mouth of one of the most interesting men that I know."

"Stop, you're embarrassing me, you sap." Will wrapped his arm around Nico, the orange jewel on his finger catching the light.

Nico took the album from Will and placed it on his lap. "I can't believe it's been nearly ten years since one of the best decisions of my life."

"What, marrying me wasn't the best moment?"

"There's just so many others. Kissing you, making all of my friends, having Rosabella-"

"That decision was very painful, mind you."

"Let me finish. There was also adopting Winry and Paul, and agreeing to be Felix Jackson's godparents. And saying yes when you proposed to me."

"Well, those are definitely my best decisions too. Except it would be me proposing to you."

"Mmm." Nico hummed as he snuggled deeper into his heater of a husband. His sweater was soft and warm. It was probably a gift from Annabeth. Her crafting skills had improved over the years, and she often used them to make presents.

Years. So much time had passed. Over two decades ago he was a scared teenager, running through the darkness of a horrible maze, guided by a man that had been even more horrible. Now here he was, a grown man, with a husband, a house, and three beautiful children. If he had told that to his past self, he would have scoffed and accused him of lying. But it was the truth. Nico's life had turned around for the better, and it wasn't going to turn back around, as long as he was in control.

"You're just as tired as Rosabella." Will's breath was heavy across his ear, blowing around the hairs on Nico's face. "Want me to carry you to bed?"

"I'd rather stay here for a bit," Nico mumbled. "With you."

"As you wish."

Outside, a light summer rain began to fall, pattering against the rooftop. The sound lulled Nico into a deep sleep, and Will followed him.

His life was happy, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

_**Gattino/a-Little cat**_

_**Mi gattino/a-My little cat**_

_**Bacio-Kiss**_

**I **_**did**_** name one of their kids Winry, after Winry Rockbell. I started watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood a few weeks ago, and finished it Saturday. I cried during the last episode. I'm now watching the original anime. You guys should keep an eye out for fics from me, I already have an idea. (Although I'm still not over Hohenheim being called Mr. Ho in canon. It sounds like he's being called a hoe, but a good hoe. A respected hoe. A hoe that deserves the title Mister before being called a hoe.)**

**And if it seemed like I was hinting at Rosabella being Will and Nico's biological kid, it's because transboy Will is one of my fav headcanons. I just wish I could've worked it in the story, but it really became a thing for me after this story had kicked off. Oh well. I can always write stuff with transboy Will in the future. Paul and Winry are adopted Roman demigods. And Winry's name isn't permanent, I mainly put it in as a joke. When I do write a second-gen fic her name will be different.**

**Anyways it's time for sappy author notes**

**Honestly, this entire year has been the best one of my life so far. I started this out as a fun little idea, to get myself back into writing. Then the story started getting hits, as more and more people read it. As it grew, I grew, opening up to the readers that I met through it, and making more friends. I started to get more confident in my writing as well.**

**I didn't expect it to get so popular. I guess I should've expected it, since Solangelo was still new at the time, and people wanted content for it. But for it to still stay so popular? I'm honored. Really. I would say that my crummy writing doesn't deserve this, but it's not crummy at all (Well, this chapter feels iffy, but I've never written a wedding before). My writing is pretty great. It took me too long to realize it, but thanks to the support from all of you, I'm sure that my writing is great, and that it will surely become greater over time.**

**As for the support…Thank you guys so much.**

**When I started writing this, I was scared. I had accepted that I was queer, but I didn't know what exactly my gender or my sexuality was. I was also scared of revealing that I was autistic and ADHD, since I would surely get criticized for being mentally ill.**

**But when I did come out, I got support. You guys used my chosen name and pronouns, and you supported my mental illnesses and my autistic Will headcanon. I did get some flak from people, but it was drowned out by the love that I got from you guys.**

**I couldn't ask for a better fanbase. You guys are some of the greatest people I have ever met. I love you. I love all of you. I hope that you all lead lives that are as beautiful as you are.**

**Thank you. Thank you, all of you. You are all perfect.**

**Shoutout to those who sent in the requests:**

**TheKookieKing11**

**Queen Ore-Sama**

**Agana of the night**

**Angela**

**Kifo Entiegon**

**SecretPrussianCitizen**

**ThisSentenceIsALie**

**Ippiki Ookami no Fuyu**

**P. HSIAO**

**Random/Chocoholic Minion**

**That Dam Guest**

**Maya-chan2007**

**Infinitecity**

**MoonlightFairy782**

**If your name isn't here, I apologize. I went through the chapters and found as many as I could, but I may have missed a few. If I missed yours, please let me know! (Also yikes I was immature in my previous author's notes)**

**And to the friends I met that inspired me to keep this going, even if not all of them read this:**

**I Am Shibuya's Composer**

**EffervescentGrace**

**annabethisterrified**

**GhostyStarr**

**Biancadiangeno**

**Chocoholic Minion**

**Also Dragons**

**Moonshroom420**

**morbidbookworm**

**Thank you, you guys. You are all beautiful writers, and you all inspired me. I hope that I inspire you guys too.**

**And if I didn't mention you by name, that doesn't mean I don't know who you are. I've read every single review I have gotten on this, and I recognize many people by name. You will all hold a special place in my heart, as the people who supported me and made me feel confident in my writing.**

…**I guess this is the end.**

**Well, not quite.**

**I have been considering a sequel to this fic, called "How Not to Mess With Your OTP." I don't have an idea for the starting chapter yet, but I'll think of one. I don't know when it'll be up. I have a lot of other fics to write, not to mention blogs to run, anime to watch, and school to do. But it'll be up probably after Halloween.**

**Speaking of my other fics, I'm writing a Homestuck fantasy AU called "The Princess and the Dragon." It's Terezi/Feferi. I actually want to turn it into a book!**

**I also have an idea for a Fullmetal Alchemist AU, but it'll be a little tricky to write and plan out. I still need to talk it over with my friend.**

**There's also a bunch of oneshots up, from Homestuck, Percy Jackson, and Ninjago. I'm definitely putting a lot more up in the future.**

**My other fanfiction accounts are TailsDoll13 on WattPad and Gamzee_Makaraoni on ArchiveOfOurOwn. This is the account that I mainly use, but I do use the other two!**

**If you want to talk to me more, check out my tumblr spoopywillsolace. After Halloween, I'm changing to autisticedwardelric. I might go back to autisticwillsolace, but I'm not sure yet.**

**I also have a few more blogs. I'm the creator of the dirtypjoconfessions blog, and I'm starting a Kane Chronicles network. And I have an askblog for Nepeta Leijon called nepetasintheclub.**

**That's it for this story. If I update this again, I'm probably announcing the sequel.**

**Once again, I love all of you guys. Have a beautiful life! I hope to see you all again in the future!**

**-Taylor/TailsDoll13**


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